


More About You

by BridgetteIrish



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:48:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5680207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetteIrish/pseuds/BridgetteIrish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Cat is supposedly convinced that Kara Danvers is not Supergirl, she begins to attempt a calculated seduction of Supergirl, with copious help from her assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Separation of Duties

**Author's Note:**

> A Romantic Comedy by Bridgette Irish
> 
> Inspired by a Headcanon from @widdle and was given sweeping permission to “Do The Thing”
> 
> Here is Part One of "the thing”

“Do you think she bought it?” Winn asked, the morning after Kara Danvers and Supergirl miraculously appeared in Cat Grant’s office at the same time.

“I have no idea,” Kara admitted.

“In any case, she’s pretending to have bought it, which, for now, seems to be the most important thing,” James chimed in.

Kara looked at him dubiously, unsure if she agreed. She was about to open her mouth to protest when…

“James! Kiera!”

The two of them exchanged glances and moved in unison towards Cat’s office.

“What do you think she wants? She’s never asked for us simultaneously.”

James shrugged and held open the office door for Kara.

“James, I’ll need you to contact Supergirl. I need to see her Friday night, 7:00.”

She turned her attention to her assistant. “Kiera, make reservations at J’Espere for two, corner table and send flowers, something innocuous, fragrant, sweet.” Kara looked at her boss as though she’d grown a second head. Cat Grant was perpetually focused and the opposite of sentimental, but the look on her face in that moment was soft and distant, and she wasn’t speaking in full sentences. When there was no answer to her commands and her employees’ shoes remained glued to the floor of her office, she came back to herself. “Well,” she snarked, “Chop Chop”

James left the office, but Kara remained.

“Have you forgotten how to walk?” Cat had returned to her desk and was no longer looking at her. 

“Um, Miss Grant. What date and time for the reservations? And where am I sending these flowers? To whom?”

Cat’s head snapped up. “Weren’t you listening, Kiera? Friday night, 7:00. James should know how to get flowers to Supergirl. I’m sure she doesn’t sleep on a bench in the park and eat around a fire barrel under the River Bridge.” Cat’s face darkened. “I haven’t had any luck tracking down her home address yet.” This fact clearly bothered Cat and when she looked up, there was venom in her voice. “Scoot!” she snapped, with a flick of her wrist.

Kara scooted and made a beeline for James’s desk. 

“What am I supposed to do now?”

James smiled. “Looks like you’re going on a date with Cat Grant… Supergirl.”

Kara flopped at her desk and began planning her own dinner date. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++

“Kara, you can’t date your boss! Hank is losing his mind.” Alex was incredulous that Kara had let this go on as long as she had.

“Kara isn’t dating her boss, Alex, Supergirl is. What was I supposed to say? No? One does not just say no to Cat Grant. It just isn’t done.”

“You let her down easy. Tell her you’re happy to remain friends, but that Supergirl doesn’t date.”

“Well, maybe Supergirl wants to date. Maybe she wants to be wined and dined on the arm of a beautiful woman who’s way out of her league. Maybe she wants to feel human once in awhile.”

“Kara,” Alex warned.

Kara rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep it to one date. I’ll put the kibosh on the whole thing. Satisfied?”

+++++++++++++++++++++++

At 7:00 sharp on Friday evening, Supergirl landed gracefully on Cat Grant’s office balcony holding a single yellow rose.

Cat looked stunning and soft, in a white wrap dress, and Kara’s heart leapt. She had convinced Alex to let her indulge in one date on the pretense that she needed for Supergirl to end this, whatever it was, before it even started, but deep down, Kara knew this was about being close to Cat, even if just for a night.

“You look beautiful, Miss Grant,” Supergirl smiled her confident smile and handed her the flower.

“Thank you. You look… exactly the same.” 

Kara chuckled. “This is who I am, Miss Grant, even at fancy restaurants.”

Cat nodded, accepting the barrier for now, but determined to get past it eventually. The meaning of the yellow rose was not lost on Cat. She knew wooing Supergirl would be no easy feat, but she would be patient. There was vulnerability behind that armor and Cat sensed a timid fear in Supergirl’s halo of strength.

“Shall we?” A strong arm circled Cat’s slim waist and the two lifted silently from the balcony and into the night sky.

++++++++++++++++++++

Dinner was pleasant. Good food, good wine, a decadent shared dessert. Cat was nothing like she was at work. She was charming and attentive and a little bit shy. She like nerdy things like jigsaw puzzles and stargazing and romantic comedies, in spite of having little time to indulge in them. Kara was diligent and careful with her words, her voice, and her inflection. If she slipped into blushing Kara mode, Cat would know immediately. Fortunately, Cat seemed downright smitten and unconcerned with Supergirl’s demeanor, only her presence. She had reached out several times to initiate contact with her date; hands, face, feet. Kara rebuffed the advances gently and did her best to ignore the flash of disappointment that only someone who knew her boss well would catch.

When they landed back on Cat’s balcony, Supergirl said a soft, “Good Night, Miss Grant. Thank you.”

Cat held her wrist, squeezing just enough. “Can I see you again?”

Kara gathered her courage. “You may see me anytime you like, Miss Grant, but I’m afraid only in the capacity of friendship.” She knew she shouldn’t, but she pulled Cat’s other hand into her own and allowed her thumbs to caress gently as she continued. “My life is not… normal. I don’t appear in public, or go out with friends or… date. I can’t. I have a job, a responsibility to this city and anything outside of that is impossible. Please understand.” 

Cat smiled her half smile and nodded. “Of course, but,” she stepped into Kara’s space, stood on the tips of her toes and laid a perfect kiss on Supergirl’s soft cheek. “Call me Cat.” Their eyes met. “Good night… Supergirl.”

Kara locked the memory of that kiss away in a place in her heart she knew she could always find it. She was keenly aware she wasn’t off the hook. Cat Grant never gave up that easily. But with a gentle smile she rose back into the air and away.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alex was waiting at her apartment when she got home and sprang up as Kara jetted through the open window.

“Well? How did it go? All fixed?”

Kara nodded her head silently, sat down on the couch and swallowed back the sob that wanted to escape.

“Kara?”

Kara met her sister’s eyes. Alex was the only person on this planet who knew everything about Kara Zor El, and she saw the turmoil in those sharp, blue eyes immediately.

“Oh, Kara, no.”

“I can’t help it, Alex.” Kara sniffed. “She’s…”

She drew her sister, who was now crying openly, into the circle of her arms and stroked her hair. “I know she is, Sis. I know.”

++++++++++++++++++++++

Kara nursed her crush and did her work and began to believe that Cat really had taken her at Supergirl’s word and had decided not to pursue it further. Each day that passed that Cat did not attempt to contact Supergirl, Kara felt the tiniest bit of relief paired with the tiniest bit of heartache.

Then the demands for flowers began. Every two or three days, late in the afternoon, Cat would get that faraway look in her eyes that a keenly attentive Kara began to recognize and shortly thereafter, the order would come to send flowers, discreetly, to Supergirl. 

At a loss for any other course of action, and because Cat monitored her bank statements daily, Kara ordered bouquets of Iris, Freesia, Jasmine, Daisies, Tuberose, Lilies and sent them to herself. The flowers sat on various surfaces of her apartment, filling every room with sweet scents that tortured Kara with thoughts of Cat.

Alex watched helplessly as her sister wilted around the edges, just a little bit each day.

Thursday morning, nearly two weeks after their first date, dawned rainy and cool and Kara barely had Miss Grant’s coffee heated and her glasses wiped free of rain when the elevator opened. Cat stepped off the elevator looking as though she’d been thrown into the river and fished out. She thrust a broken umbrella into Kara’s hands, and grabbed the latte, taking a long pull before she began speaking.

“Fire the car service. Get someone reliable who actually maintains their vehicles so they don’t break down in the rain, causing clients to have to walk six blocks in six inch heels.”

Kara sprung into action. “Yes, Miss Grant,” she said and hurried ahead of her boss into the office and back into the executive washroom, without being asked. Before Cat knew it, a large, plush towel had been placed in her hands and another was gently patting her hair and the back of her neck dry. She used it to dry her face and arms and began to attempt to salvage her dress when a firm hand stopped her. Kara grabbed the towel from her hands and met her eyes briefly before focusing on folding the now-damp towels. “The pinstripe you wore last week is hanging in the washroom. I picked it up from the dry cleaner’s this morning. I’ll clear your calendar so nobody sees you wearing the same thing twice.” She smiled cheekily.

One corner of Cat’s mouth lifted. “That won’t be necessary, Kiera.”

Kara lifted the towel one final time to catch and squeeze the final drop of rain hanging precariously from a limp curl. Cat’s smile grew a bit. “My hero.”

Kara ignored the weakness in her knees, blushed and stepped aside to let her boss into the washroom to freshen up.

Ten minutes later, Cat Grant emerged from the washroom looking fresher than any daisy and ready to continue conquering the world. “Kiera.”

Kara sighed, and the world made sense again.

She stepped into the office, pen and notebook in hand. “I want you to set up a dinner with Supergirl for Saturday evening. Here, out on the balcony. She’s comfortable here. Get decent takeout, but nothing too fancy. No candles or flowers, but cloth napkins and good wine. Nothing that screams romance, but perhaps hints at it a bit.” Kara blushed hotly and bit her lip to keep her opinions in. Without a word she turned to go but Cat’s voice stopped her cold. “Kiera, I’d like you to be on hand that night, out of the way, but present, just in case.”

Kara’s head drooped on her shoulders just a bit and with the smallest of nods and without looking back at her boss, she left the office. 

She grabbed Winn by the collar on the way past his desk. “The fortress. Now. Get James.” She already had her phone out texting Alex.

When she arrived upstairs at the command center, she flopped on the sofa and buried her head in her hands. “I am so screwed.”


	2. Substitutions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is sidelined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language gets salty in this chapter.

“She knows.” Winn paced the room as James sat next to Kara and watched her worry her hands in her lap.

“Brilliant deduction, Watson,” Kara snarked. “Of course she knows. Why else would she insist her assistant be present at her date, which is taking place in her office, of all places?” She threw her hands up. “This whole thing is just too bizarre. She’s up to something.”

James shrugged. “I’ll feel her out. See if I can get her to spill, but she knows I’m close with Supergirl. I can’t make any promises.”

Kara gave him a grateful smile as her phone buzzed in her pocket. Her features fell as she read the text from Alex.

*DEO. NOW.*

“Oh God, I’m dead.”

+++++++++++++++++

“Dammit, Kara, I thought you had this handled!” Hank rarely yelled at her anymore, but upon finding out that, once again, he would have to don Kara’s face and suit and fool Cat Grant into believing her assistant was not, in fact, National City’s caped crusader; his temper got the best of him.

Kara cast her eyes away, ashamed. “I thought I did too,” she said softly. “Cat isn’t exactly predictable.”

Alex scoffed from her place against the wall, arms crossed and scowling.

“Something to add, Agent Danvers?”

Alex shook her head. 

“I’ll fix it this time.” Kara met his eyes, determined.

“No, I’ll fix it,” Hank demanded. “You’ll be mild-mannered Kara Danvers, I’ll be Supergirl, and I’ll end it.”

Kara began a half-hearted protest.

“No arguments. It’s done.”

Alex pushed herself off the wall. “Sir, may I speak to my sister alone for a few minutes.”

Hank gave them each one more exasperated look and exited the room.

Alex rounded on Kara. “So its Cat now, is it?”

“Don’t scold me, Alex.”

“Don’t you get it? She’s a journalist, Kara, and a damn good one. She has been long before she was Supergirl’s girlfriend or your little power crush. If you think for one second she won’t run that story the second she has quantifiable proof, you’re deluding yourself. You want to know what she’s up to? That’s it. She’s just looking for her story.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Oh, I do. I can see the headline now. ‘Supergirl Exposed! Lap Dog by Day, Gay Hero by Night!’”

“Shut up, Alex.” Kara’s hands balled into fists as she struggled to suppress her rising anger.

“She’s using you, little sister, and you’re letting her. Even if she did want you, or Supergirl, on some level, she’ll sell you out for that story before you can say ‘Queen of All Media’” Alex made aggressive air quotes at this and Kara snapped.

“I said SHUT UP!” She launched herself at her sister, pressing her back by her shoulders and punching the wall next to Alex’s head. Tears gathered in her eyes and a look of horror mixed with the rage still roiling through her.

Alex smiled mirthlessly. “That’s my girl. Get mad and stay mad. It may keep some of the hurt at bay.” Alex forced Kara to meet her eyes. “For now.”

Kara shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Alex.”

Alex drew her close and gave her one of those all-consuming hugs she was so good at. “You have to let her go, Kara.” 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Cat.” James approached without permission, but if she was offended by the intrusion, she didn’t let on. She removed her glasses and folded her hands on her desk.

James came closer and leaned over. “What are you playing at with Kara?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“C’mon, Cat. A date? With Supergirl? In your office. Chaperoned by your assistant? None of it makes any sense.”

Cat stood and straightened her shoulders. “One,” she said, stalking around her desk. “My assistant has a big mouth. I’ll be addressing that with her shortly.” She leaned against the front of her desk, and crossed her arms. “Two, I don’t have to explain myself to you, Mr. Olsen. Clear?”

James smirked. “Crystal, Miss Grant.” He turned to leave.

“James, before you go, I wonder if you might clear something up for me.”

James turned back, hands on hips, waiting for Cat’s impossible questions.

“I’ve been sending flowers to Supergirl, but there is no record of where those flowers were delivered. In each and every case, the arrangements were purchased from a different flower shop in far flung parts of the city, picked up in person, and signed for by a Z.E. Can you offer any insight into how, or even if, those bouquets ever made it to their final destination?”

James schooled his features and shook his head. “Only Kara could tell you for sure how, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, Supergirl received every one.”

“But you can’t, or won’t tell me where to find her?”

James shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cat.”

At this, Cat stood and returned to her seat behind her desk, put on her glasses and snarled, “Bye Mr. Olsen.”

James left the office.

+++++++++++++++++++

Kara pouted while she played solitaire on her computer and listened intently to the quiet conversation taking place on the balcony fifty feet away.

J’onn, disguised as Supergirl, had landed outside and tried to make his escape almost immediately. “I can’t stay, Miss Grant, I just came to remind you that we had decided not to pursue this further.”

“You decided,” Cat smiled charmingly. “At least stay and have a drink.” She made her way to the bar in her office, glancing discreetly at Kara, who rolled her eyes. She poured two healthy glasses of white wine and handed one to Supergirl, escorting her back out to the balcony. She laid her hand on the small of Supergirl’s back, to ensure herself the girl was real. Not a hologram, then.

“Miss Grant - ”

“Cat. Sit, Supergirl, please.”

Kara continued to listen to J’onn rebuff Cat, insist on leaving immediately, and then get drawn further into her circle of charm. She burned with anger that he didn’t just fly off and put an end to it, and looked forward with malevolent glee for the moment she could remind Hank that she’s not the only one who has trouble saying no to Cat Grant.

“Miss Grant, I really do have to go.”

Kara heard the rustle of two people moving about. “Don’t go. Please.”

Kara recognized the voice, but Cat’s pleading tone was new. Cat didn’t plead for anything, ever. She stood and watched through the windows at the scene unfold outside.

Cat turned Supergirl back to her with a tentative hand on her bicep. 

“Just go, Hank,” Kara whispered to herself as she watched Cat pull Supergirl’s face closer to her own. Closer. Closer. Cat’s arm came up under the red cape to caress her shoulder blade. There was no mistaking where this was going.

Something broke in Kara. A loud crash sounded through the office, and Kara opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by glass. The window she’d been leaning against had shattered, startling the couple from their almost kiss. 

As Cat took her eyes from Supergirl and focused on the chaos that was now her office, J’onn took off from the balcony and into the night sky.

Kara met Cat’s eyes before she turned and fled, leaving Cat standing bewildered and alone in her broken sanctuary.

+++++++++++++++++

Kara paced the Kryptonite ring at the DEO ranting at her two companions. “I’ll fix it. I’ll put a stop to it. You don’t have the guts, Kara, I’ll do it myself. You almost kissed her!”

“I’m not entirely convinced she’s entirely human,” Hank said sardonically.

Kara laughed mirthlessly. “Welcome to the club,” she sassed. “Give me my suit. I’m going home.”

Hank tossed her a small canvas bag. Before either of them could blink, Kara was in her suit and out the door, taking flight without even acknowledging her sister’s presence.

“Go home, Agent Danvers. We’re done here.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kara flew, far and fast, miles above the earth, but when she finally returned to earth, and National City, she slowed, and found herself outside Cat Grant’s penthouse balcony. She knew she shouldn’t, but she touched down and knocked quietly at the French windows.

Cat was ethereal in a long, white satin robe, the halo of her hair catching the moonlight. Kara couldn’t speak, but she didn’t need to. She simply smiled her dazzling Supergirl smile, drew Cat to her with a strong arm around her waist and kissed her. It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was sweet and deep. Their tongues danced lightly and Cat’s slender fingers curled gently around the back of her neck in an attempt to hold herself steady.

When they parted, Cat looked up at her. “Please tell me who you are.” It sounded sincere and oh, how Kara wanted to.

“I can’t.” She shook her head sadly. “I can’t see you any more, Cat. I just needed to know what it felt like, just once.”

“You can’t come here and kiss me like that and just…”

“I’m sorry.” Supergirl couldn’t resist brushing her thumb down Cat’s cheek. Then she was gone.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

The next morning a dejected and angry Cat Grant, dressed to kill in a cerulean cocktail dress and 4-inch Prada heels, attended brunch with people she didn’t much care about and drank twice the number of mimosas as anyone else at the table. Tipsy, still angry and desperate for answers, she pulled out her phone and brought up the GPS tracking app she had downloaded the night before, the one tied to the tiny button tracker she had slipped under that red cape just before Kara had broken her office window.

“Driver!” she yelled, a little louder than she intended to. She handed him the phone. “Take me to wherever this GPS tracker is located, as fast as you can.” 

+++++++++++++++++++

Kara Danvers’s apartment looked as though it had been hit by a food tornado. Empty wing cartons, pizza boxes, popcorn bags and cookie packages were strewn across the coffee table and floor in front of the television.

Winn Schott sat slouched in an armchair, playing Game of War on his phone and glancing at his friend with raised eyebrows. James Olson sipped at a half-empty beer, with his fiancée curled up next to him, her eyes alight with amusement. She really did like this nerdy little super-alien friend of James’s and smiled warmly as she watched Kara watch her Minnesota Vikings.

Alex Danvers stood behind the sofa, watching the TV with silent intent, squeezing the overstuffed back so hard it appeared it might burst. While she was just as intensely interested in the game, her intensity didn’t hold a candle to her sister’s passion for football.

At the center of it all was Kara Danvers, standing less than four feet from the television, in front of the sofa, jumping up and down, clutching a blue, down throw pillow and screaming profanities at the screen.

“Run, Bitch! Run! Come On! Yes! First Down!” She collected half-hearted high fives from Winn and James, before turning back to the screen.

++++++++++++++++++

Cat Grant climbed the last flight of stairs, following the dot on her GPS app to the door of apartment 4D. As she rang the doorbell a litany of obscenities from a fairly familiar voice had her second guessing her judgement in this moment.

“Bridgewater, you fucking marshmallow! Find your receivers and throw the goddamn ball! Dammit!”

Cat removed her sunglasses, raised her eyebrows, and rang the doorbell.

+++++++++++++++++++

The ring of the doorbell pulled Alex’s attention from the game. She detoured quickly to the small end table, picking up the small black glasses and plunking them on her sister’s nose. Kara barely noticed. A rule had been made, after a few awkward encounters with the pizza guy, Kara’s disguise needed to be securely in place anytime they answered the door. Alex smiled and shook her head. It would take something truly epic to tear her sister’s eyes from a Sunday afternoon Vikings game. It reminded her of her Dad and warmed her heart.

She answered the door and nearly fell over at the sight of Cat Grant. “Uh, Miss Grant. Hi.” Alex’s brow furrowed. Kara’s boss, to the best of her knowledge, had no idea where she lived.

“Agent Scully.” The surprise in Cat’s voice couldn’t be mistaken.

“Danvers,” Alex spat back.

“Right, Kiera’s big, bad FBI sister. If you’ll excuse me, I’m looking for Supergirl.” She didn’t wait to be invited in, but brushed past Alex and into the open apartment.

“Uh, Miss Grant, I don’t know what you - ”

“Come ON ref! Where’s the fucking call! That was pass interference! Jesus!”

The apartment had gone silent, except for Kara’s outbursts and the din from the television. Everyone in the room was staring at the unexpected visitor who was staring daggers at Kara.

“KARA!” Alex yelled. Kara turned toward the exclamation of her name, took one look at Cat Grant standing in her living room and the abused microfiber pillow clutched in her fists tore down the middle, throwing feathers like confetti into the air.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth, Kiera?” Cat feigned indifference, but her eyes were darting around the room.

“Miss Grant… I mean, Cat… I mean Miss Cat…”

As Kara tried to pull herself together and stuttered nonsense like “What are you doing here?” and “How did you know where I live?” Cat’s eyes landed on the various flower arrangements scattered throughout the room, ending with the orange tiger lilies, displayed prominently on the kitchen table.

Cat’s eyes narrowed and Kara tracked her gaze. “Miss Grant, I can explain.” But it was too late.

Before anyone could stop her, Cat was down the hall, checking rooms until she came upon Kara’s bedroom, where she whipped open the closet door and there, hanging right in the middle was the blue and red Supersuit, cape and all.

Cat ripped it from the hanger and stormed back out to the living room, where Kara stood in petrified horror, waiting for the inevitable. She flung the suit at her assistant’s feet. “You LIED to me.”

“I had to.” Kara said quietly at first, then with more vehemence. “Cat, I HAD to, you have to know why I had to.”

Cat cocked her hip and waited for further explanation, but none came. Instead, Kara’s expression became pensive, quizzical. “How did you find me anyway?”

Cat rolled her eyes and snatched the suit back up from its place of disgrace on the floor, and showed Kara the tiny, button-size tracker hidden beneath the cape.

The incredulous look Kara gave her boss in that moment was nothing compared to the roar that came from her in the next moment.

“YOU’VE BEEN TRACKING ME!?”


	3. Lion-Hearted Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara stands up for herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An ENORMOUS Thank you to @kara-lesbihonest on Tumblr for the edit.  
> You have elevated my work and I am outrageously grateful.

More About You  
Chapter 3 – Lion Hearted Girl

“What the actual fuck, Cat?”

Cat shifted her weight and tried to look nonchalant. “I needed to find you, and I did. The ends justified the means.”

Fire burned in Kara’s eyes. “Justified? Spying, snooping, manipulation. You call that justified?” She took a step so she was toe to toe with Cat. “You’re out of your mind.”

Alex put a solid hand on Kara’s elbow and whispered calmly in her ear. “Reign it in, sis.” Alex’s hand travelled down to Kara’s, and she calmly opened the tightly clenched fist. Alex kept her eyes on Kara, fully aware of the sheer kinetic potential at her fingertips. 

Cat stood her ground, head still cocked in bored indifference as rage poured through the woman in front of her. 

Kara took a deep breath. “I’m okay.” She looked up at Alex. “I’m okay.”

Alex nodded. “Will you be okay if we all leave you two to talk? Or do I need to stick around?”

Kara shook her head. “I’m okay.”

Alex pressed her cheek against Kara’s in a quick show of support, and gestured to the silent room. “Come on guys. Let’s go.”

The boys were out the door first, followed by Lucy, who gave Kara’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze on her way past. Alex gripped Kara’s hand, more to remind her of her own strength than anything and said, “I’m a phone call away.” Kara nodded and watched them leave.

As the door shut, Kara’s whole world focused on the woman standing in her living room, twirling her hair apathetically.

“Such dramatics,” Cat scoffed.

Kara rolled her eyes. “You’re drunk.”

Cat had the presence of mind to look ashamed for a fleeting moment before reverting to type.

“Yes, well. We aren’t all bulletproof. Sometimes booze is how humans cope with pain, Kiera.” 

The way she spat ‘humans’ and Cat’s insistence on clinging to that ridiculous name set Kara back on edge.

She’d finally had enough. She pulled herself up to full Supergirl height. Even without the suit, she cut an intimidating figure, framed from behind by sunlight, giving her a bit of eclipse effect. “My name is Kara Zor-El. You may call me Kara, Ms. Danvers or Lady El, but you will not call me Kiera. Not anymore. Understand, human?”

Cat’s breath caught and she met Kara’s eyes. “Fine,” Cat swallowed and nodded. Her voice was earnest and sincere. “Kara.”

The uncharacteristic darkness drained from the girl, but the anger remained. Kara paced back and forth to avoid looking directly at Cat. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Setting aside the betrayal, the stalking, the invasion of my privacy, you could have put you and me and everything I’ve built in danger. Dammit, Cat, don’t you get it?”

“Oh, come, Kara. Nothing so terrible happened. I walked in on you and your little sidekicks acting like barbarians, that’s all.” Cat rolled her eyes and put her hands securely on her hips.

“But what if, Cat? What if I had gotten a call, and had put on that suit and gone to stop an armed robbery, or a bomb threat or any number of the things I face every single day? What if your little stunt had resulted in you driving off a collapsing bridge or into a gang shootout or some alien monster bent on terrorizing the city?” Kara’s pacing had stopped. In a breath she was next to Cat, fighting the urge to reach out to her. “What if I had to choose between saving a street full of people and saving you, Cat? What then? Because, I can’t honestly say that I know, in that moment, what I would do.” Cat’s sandalwood shampoo invaded her senses and intoxicated her for a moment. She steeled herself and stepped back. “But you don’t give a damn about any of that, do you, Cat?”

“I’m a journalist. My job is dangerous. I accept that.” She was still trying to be flip and aloof, but her resolve was crumbling.

Kara blinked away tears and looked up at the ceiling. “I knew it. It was all about the story. You would risk your life, my life, my family and friends, my job and humanity, all of it, just so you can expose me to the world.”

“It’s an important story, Kara, surely you can appreciate that.”

“IT’S MY STORY!” She gritted her teeth. “Mine. And you don’t get to have it. I decide who gets to know it and I decide who gets to tell it.”

“So you chose Baby Lane and not me?” Cat sounded almost hurt.  
Kara turned red, incensed. “Lucy Lane has proven her loyalty to me ten times over, which is more than I can say for you. She found out by accident and she’s been put through hell because of it and she still stands proudly at my side, in spite of it all. Don’t talk about things you don’t understand, Cat.”

“But - ”

“You, interrogate me, dig up my past, seduce me under false pretenses and plant a homing device on me and you wonder why I can’t trust you?” Kara put her face inches from Cat’s. “Fuck you.”

Cat took a deep breath, registering the profanity from her usually blushing assistant. “There were never any false pretenses.”

Kara stared, in stunned disbelief that even now, as they laid everything out between them, Cat still had the audacity to lie to her face. Then again, maybe Cat was lying a bit to herself too.

Kara’s voice shook. “Every wink, every smile, every touch. It was all a lie. That first night at the restaurant. You were so unassuming and sweet and soft. You spoke of the stars.” Kara let herself get lost in the memories of that night for just a moment. “You made me want you.” Kara forgot herself and brushed a gentle hand down Cat’s wrist before she could stop it. When she realized what she was doing she snapped her head up and put immediate distance between herself and this dangerous woman.

She looked out the window and her rage returned. She wanted to make Cat Grant hurt, the way she was hurting, the way she’d been hurting since that night Cat asked her to remove her glasses on the balcony. “Or maybe, it wasn’t about the story after all, hm?”

She turned back to Cat and crossed her arms. “Maybe it was about something else. Something more nefarious.” She sauntered forward, each word pointed to find its target. “Was I just another notch on your bedpost, Cat? Arm candy you could keep in a back pocket for red carpets and salacious publicity and the occasional evening of amusement? Just another conquest to add to your list, right? John Stamos, Cate Blanchett and Supergirl? Tell me, Cat. Did you just want me for the photo ops, or was the plan to actually sleep with me just so you could say you had?” 

There it was. The look of pain that Kara got when she felt Kryptonite nearby now graced Cat’s pale features. Mission accomplished, she thought. 

The result was less satisfying than Kara had anticipated.

Cat’s eyes narrowed. “Now who’s speaking of things she doesn’t understand?” she sniped.

Kara retreated.

“You lied to me, Kara. Over and over. I knew you were lying, and I had to know the truth. My whole life has been about the pursuit of the truth,” she said, then paused. Now it was Cat’s turn to get a bit too close for comfort. “The truth about superhuman aliens and elusive scientists, even the truth about my mild-mannered, fresh-faced assistant, no matter how disarming her smile.” There was no affection in her voice.

“And you can think of no reason why I would need to keep my identity from you? No reason at all?” Cat shrugged so Kara continued. “Everyone who knows about me is in danger. Each person who knows who I truly am is another person who my enemies can use against me, and when that person is as powerful as Cat Grant…” she met Cat’s eyes. “Let’s just say you’re a bigger target than most.” She looked away again. “You didn’t think for one second that maybe, just maybe I was trying to protect you? Did you think for one second that not everyone in your world is plotting some Machiavellian twist against you?”

Cat didn’t have an answer for that, so she changed the subject. “So, where do we go from here?”

Kara shrugged, all her fight gone. “I’ll do my best to keep you from what Lucy had to go through. They’ll want to question you, make demands of you, make you forget. I’ll do what I can to protect you.”

Cat nodded, but it wasn’t what she wanted to know. “And what about us?”

Kara shook her head. “There is no us, Cat. After your story runs, there won’t even really be a me. The people I work for, they’ll protect me, and themselves and their secrets to the bitter end. They won’t allow me to work for you or anybody anymore. They’ll hide me away, use me as their weapon. Supergirl will be my job now. If I’m lucky they’ll let me keep this place, but it’s more likely they’ll move me and give me a new identity.” Her voice broke. “The Kara Danvers you know will cease to exist. I’ll lose my friends, my comforts—my humanity.” A tear spilled down her cheek. “At least I’ll still have Alex.”

Cat felt unfamiliar tears sting the corners of her eyes. “Kara, I never said I was going to - ”

“But you will. Please go, Cat. I don’t have anything left to say. Go, write your story. Then maybe one of us can get something out of this mess. Just know, Cat, that while you may know my secret identity, you will never, never truly know me.” Kara crossed to the door of the apartment and quietly opened it in an unmistakable gesture.

Cat met her at the door but did not leave, stopping instead where Kara had an iron grip on the doorknob. “And last night, Kara? Am I just supposed to pretend that Supergirl kissing me on my balcony last night was just a dream?”

Kara swallowed. “Yes. That’s what we do with mistakes, Cat. Try to forget them.”

Cat turned her face from Kara’s as if she’d been slapped. She recovered, reached up, and with gentle urging she pulled Kara’s flushed face to hers, bestowing a chaste kiss on her lips. Kara tried not to sob into Cat’s mouth, but failed. Her hand fisted in the blue fabric at the small of Cat’s back and she swore she heard a subtle rip. They broke apart and Cat was gone, down the stairs.

Two flights down she passed Alex, who was sitting on the stairs, picking at a hangnail. Cat looked down at her and with composure that she didn’t actually possess said, “Best go to her, Agent. There isn’t much left of either of us after that.”

Alex was on her feet and up the stairs with near superhuman speed. She stopped at the apartment door where Kara had collapsed in on herself, quietly sobbing into her knees. All Alex could do in that moment was join her on the floor and draw her close.

Cat ducked into the towncar and ordered her driver to take her home. She stared at National City as it slid past as tears slid down her cheeks. Kara had Alex, yes, but who did Cat have now?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lucy Lane leaned on the doorway to Cat Grant’s inner sanctum and watched the woman work for a few minutes. She was a machine, juggling multiple electronics, watching various monitors and studying prints and layouts spread across her desk. 

To Lucy’s left an anxious, mousy redhead was mumbling to herself about constantly changing schedules. 

A news clip of Supergirl holding up an I-beam that fell from a construction crane rolled across one of the screens and without turning around, Cat suddenly bellowed, “Olga!”

The look of fear that crossed the new assistant’s face made Lucy hold up a hand and gesture for her to sit back down. Lucy entered the office instead. “Her name is Olivia.”

Cat looked up at the intrusion. “Well, if it isn’t Baby Lane. James isn’t here. He’s on assignment.”

Lucy took it upon herself to flop into a chair across from Cat’s desk. “I know. That’s why I’m here. He’d kill me if he knew I came.”

“Yes, well, while I dream of the day we can gossip like tweens, I have work to do, so either out with it or out with you.” She made a shoo-ing gesture with her hand.

“Stop it, Cat. That deflective bullshit doesn’t work on me because I don’t work for you.” Lucy paused and regarded Cat for a moment before deciding her path. “You never ran the story.”

“What story?” Cat still wasn’t looking directly at her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “What story, she says. THE story, Cat. Kara’s story. Supergirl’s story. You didn’t run it, why?”

Cat deflected again. “I don’t have all of the information, and my subject has disappeared.”

Lucy could see the lie in her eyes, but let it go. “Well, for what it’s worth, Kara is grateful. She was able to keep her apartment and her name, if not all the rest of it.”

All the talk of Kara had begun to dig at Cat’s heart. “How is she?”

Lucy shook her head. “Not great, but she’s coming around. They keep her busy. She doesn’t get to see us as much, but we carve out time.”

The digging was getting worse and she’d had enough of small talk about Kara. “Why are you here?”

Lucy could see it was time to get down to business. “I came to tell you my story.”

“Why?”

“So, you’ll understand what exactly Kara did to prevent it from happening to you.”

Cat crossed her legs and picked up a pen, twirling it lazily between her fingers. 

So, Lucy talked. She told Cat how she had run across a confidential file in her father’s office while working with him on a case. The Army, at least the upper ranks, knew Supergirl’s secret identity. Lucy thought of the young woman she suspected was in love with her fiancé, and the pieces came together. She confronted her father, who confirmed that they planned to use the info to strong-arm the DEO into letting them use Supergirl as a secret military weapon. Infuriated, Lucy insisted her father should hide the secret away, a young woman’s life was at stake, and he couldn’t just use people like that. General Lane, unmoved, had ignored her pleas. When she threatened to go to the DEO herself, he had her thrown into a holding cell. Her own father. He had no reason to hold her, so Lucy called Alex Danvers the second she was released. She was brought to the DEO, locked up, interrogated and given a choice. Swear to secrecy, sign her life away and accept dire consequences for talking, or have her memory modified. It was Kara who saved her. Kara walked into her cell one day, sat in front of her and said. “If you look me in the eyes right now and tell me that my secret is safe with you, I’ll make them let you go. James trusts you, and I trust James.” There was a long pause. “Please, Lucy.” With a nod and a promise, Lucy gave her word and within minutes was back in her apartment, in James’s arms.

From there it was official—Lucy was an indispensable member of their little group. The Supersquad, as Winn dubbed them, to a chorus of universal eyerolls.

Lucy looked up at Cat. “I lost my father over Kara Danvers, and I’ve never regretted it. Not once. Take that for what it’s worth.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Cat still had her poker face on.

“To let you know it isn’t too late. You can still forgive each other. And, if you keep her secret, you may even be able to have her in your life again.”

Cat shook her head. “She lied. I hate liars.”

Lucy laughed. “Yes, she lied. She had no choice. But Kara is no liar, Cat. She’s the worst liar I’ve ever met. That’s why you didn’t believe her.”

Cat scoffed. “Then why even bother lying?”

Lucy leaned forward. “She didn’t need for you to believe her, Cat. She needed for you to pretend to believe her. She needed for you to put on the act, so she could maintain the only piece of her life that made her feel normal. She needed to know that even if you knew everything about her, you would care enough to keep her safe.”

Lucy looked away from Cat for the first time. “When you couldn’t do that, everything she thought she knew about you shattered and it shattered her too.”

Cat looked at the ceiling and blinked back tears. “It’s time for you to go, Baby Lane. Give my regards to your bitch of a sister.”

Lucy chuckled and stood. “Bye, Cat.”

At the doorway, Cat stopped her. “Lucy.” Lucy turned. “Why don’t you work for me?”

Lucy shrugged. “You haven’t asked me yet.”


	4. Holding On To Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat gets a tiny glimpse of Kara's homeworld, Carter has a crisis and Cat moves forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again an enormous thank you to my editors kara-lesbihonest, rtarara and sexghosts. They are perfection.  
> To sexghosts for helping pull this story back from it's hopeless drift out to sea. You are my sextant under a vast curtain of stars.
> 
> To my Superfriends Trash Squad. You know who you are and the joy you bring.
> 
> Please enjoy.

“Here are your tickets to the planetarium opening tonight, Cat.” James handed Cat an embossed envelope containing two tickets to the grand opening of the new National City Observatory’s Planetarium Wing. 

“Thank you, James.”

“Thank Lucy. She’s the one with all the contacts.”

“Well, Carter will be thrilled. He’s been begging to go for weeks and I’ve told him there aren’t any tickets left.”

James smiled. “Have a great time. Maybe we’ll see you there.”

Cat nodded and opened her mouth to say more, but quickly shut it again. Asking whether or not Kara would be attending tonight was out of the question. She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Kara anymore. “Good night, James,” she said instead, returning to her work.

++++++++++++++++++++++

The evening was clear for the moment. A storm front loomed far in the distance somewhere out to sea, but nobody on the observation deck seemed particularly bothered by the cool breeze it had kicked up. The new planetarium was privately funded, publicly owned, and boasted the best star maps since the Hayden opened in New York City. However, the best part of the new National City Planetarium was the observation deck outfitted with a dozen high powered telescopes trained on the night sky, each with a digital tour of the starscape based on Earth’s current planetary alignment. 

Cat hadn’t lied to James about her main motivation for the evening. Carter was positively bouncing from one telescope to the other, chatting enthusiastically with anyone who would listen about his favorite constellations and the legends behind them. The truth was, though, that Cat herself was making a valiant effort to tamp down her own giddiness at so many stars at her fingertips. She hadn’t done much stargazing since starting CatCo, despite that Astronomy minor at Wellesley. They rounded the corner to check out the final telescope before heading inside for the Star Show.

Cat’s breath caught in her throat upon seeing a familiar blonde figure bent over the viewing station. Quicker than Cat could gather her thoughts, her son was gone from her side and exclaiming, “Kara!” before she was able to stop him.

Kara looked up at the sound of her name and Cat didn’t miss the tears shining in her eyes. Kara immediately found her arms full of very enthusiastic twelve-year-old boy. Her smile was genuine, but it faltered a bit as she looked over Carter’s curls to meet Cat’s eyes. Cat watched from a distance as Kara drew Carter to the telescope and had him look through it while she read from the digital display. Cat couldn’t hear the conversation they were having. She wouldn’t dream of interrupting, but she couldn’t help wishing she had super hearing. She watched Carter’s eyes light up and his mouth drop open in awe as he saw whatever the telescope was trained on. When he looked up, Cat felt tears sting at her eyes at the radiance of Carter’s smile. 

His joy was hard to access, and she stood in wonder at anyone who was able to draw it out. Kara bent to speak to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Carter nodded at whatever he’d been told and Kara drew him to her for a final hug before she walked around the opposite corner and out of sight without so much as a backward glance at Cat.

Cat’s anger flared briefly. While she knew it was misplaced, she was unable to prevent its small burn. She walked over to join Carter, laying her hands on his shoulders while he took another look through the telescope. He glanced up briefly before returning to the eyepiece. “Mom, this is so cool.” Cat turned her attention to the information display.

Star: Rao  
Distance: 50 million light years  
Red Giant Star at the end of it’s life cycle. Astronomers predict full supernova collapse of Rao within the next 1,000 to 2,000 years.  
Satellites: There are two known, previously three. Though the star is so large, it is possible there are planets orbiting further out from Rao that have not yet been discovered. Planet Krypton was the only named planet orbiting Rao. However, Planet Krypton was destroyed by core destabilization and no longer appears on scope.  
On a clear dark night, pieces of the destroyed planet are visible surrounding a small event horizon (black hole). When visible, they appear as tiny green sparkles around a black area of space.  
Notable: Superman of Metropolis and Supergirl of National City are of Kryptonian origin. Their powers are gained from Earth’s yellow sun, due to their DNA being calibrated to the cooler supernova energy of Rao.

“That’s where Supergirl lived; do you want to see?” Carter asked, looking back at her.

Cat nodded and traded places with her son. She lowered her face to the eyepiece and wrapped her fingers around the small dials, which warned visitors not to adjust them, but Cat’s training took over. It still felt natural to have an optical telescope in her hands, her eye pressed to the cushion of the eyepiece and the universe opening itself up to her gaze. Without any adjustment, she could see the red glow of Rao and two bright planets on either side of her. At first glance, she was unable to see the remains of Krypton. Out of instinct, her fingers made a few small adjustments to the dials and suddenly a ring of small emerald sparkles jumped into focus. In the middle of the glittering green ring was a section of space that was blacker than black—no light from Rao penetrated it. This was all that remained of an entire advanced world. “Oh, Kara,” she breathed.

Cat looked for Kara in the Star Show audience, but it soon became apparent that the young woman didn’t stick around; she was nowhere to be found. She saw James and Lucy and Witt and—Alex was it? They sat across from her and Carter, chatting amiably. Next to Kara’s sister was an empty seat, and it reminded Cat of the first morning at CatCo after that fateful Sunday in Kara’s apartment. She had looked up dozens of times that day, expecting to see Kara rushing in apologizing for her tardiness. The emptiness made Cat’s heart ache.

She must have been staring, because Alex caught her eye with narrowed eyes.She turned her gaze to Lucy, who gave her a tiny smile and a little shrug. Her focus was pulled by Carter, who pointed to the domed ceiling. “Mom, it’s starting.”

++++++++++++++++++

Cat kicked off her shoes after another terrible day at work. She had left early, even before dark. She had fired Olga and then also fired the replacement HR sent, completing her day without an assistant. She was tempted not to hire anyone new and just adapt to life without an assistant, but she knew that was impractical. While she hadn’t yet said the words out loud, she knew it was true nonetheless; she missed Kara, and nobody else would fill her practical shoes.

“Carter!” she yelled through the penthouse, loud enough for her son to hear from his room. “I’m home early.” When Carter didn’t come out of his room, alarm bells started sounding in her head. She had called the nanny when she decided to leave CatCo at a decent hour. She and Carter had agreed to start giving him short periods home alone to test the waters a bit before he hit full teenage rebellion. Did something happen? Did he leave without her permission? Was he hurt? A million scenarios ran through her head all at once as she dropped her handbag and laptop case and strode down the hall towards Carter’s closed bedroom door.

The door was locked. “Carter, we’ve talked about locked doors in this house. Let me in.” No answer. “Carter, you’re scaring me. I need to know you’re alright.” The first sign of life from inside the room was a faint sniffle, a few quiet shuffles, and the click of the door lock. Cat was in the room before Carter had made it back to his bed, where he curled up in a ball with his back to his mother.

“Sweetheart.” Cat made her way around the bed and sat next to her son. She stroked his brown curls back off his forehead and asked, “What happened? Was it Joey again? We’ve talked about this. When he targets you, you have to tell —” 

“It wasn’t that, mom,” Carter said weakly. “Seth and I had a fight. He told me we aren’t friends and that we can’t sit together at lunch anymore.” Carter’s tears started anew and Cat struggled to understand the rest of Carter’s story. “He was the only one at school who was nice to me! He helped with Joey. He even put me on the school paper. Now I don’t have anyone, no friends—nobody to hang out with. I ate lunch by myself today.”

Cat’s heart broke for her sensitive, shy boy. He’d been the target of bullies for years, just as she had been. She did her best to steel him for the harsh world, teach him how to stand up to bullies and use knowledge and his own passions to prove himself. But adolescence never went according to plan. Cat had the urge to call every parent at National City Prep and threaten to expose their vile children for the devil’s spawn they were, but instead, she gathered her crying son into her arms and rocked him gently while he cried.

When he’d calmed and was seated quietly against his headboard, Cat got him a glass of water from his ensuite and sat next to him, her back against the headboard too. She snuggled him to her.

“Now, do you think you can tell me what happened with Seth today? Yesterday, you were thick as thieves, planning some big story.”

Carter heaved a sigh. “Yeah, it’s the story actually. It was supposed to be about the football team and how they choose players. You know, the tryout process and what the coaches are looking for—that kind of thing.”

“All right,” Cat hedged, listening.

“Seth said we needed an angle; that there was no actual story in the story. He says we needed to find the story behind the story, whatever that means.”

Cat thought for a moment that Seth sounded like a better journalist than half her bullpen, but she only nodded for Carter to continue.

“So, we started asking questions about why people were not chosen and Seth started spying on people. I told him not to!” Carter looked at her, scared she’d disapprove.

Cat nodded again. Some of this was starting to sound eerily familiar and a small kernel of guilt began to settle somewhere in her gut.

“Seth found out something about Joey, Mom, Something about why he wasn’t chosen for the team. It isn’t… bad, but Joey would be mad if anyone knew.”

Cat furrowed her brow but still didn’t speak. Carter was on a roll, she didn’t want to derail him now.

“Seth wanted to write it in the story and I told him he couldn’t, that it would be to hard on Joey. But Seth said I shouldn’t care about that, because Joey beats me up and never gets in trouble for it. He said it would be like payback. But I don’t want Joey to have payback like that, Mom. I told Seth not to run it, that we’d have to just go with the original story. I tried, but Seth kicked me out of the newspaper office. He said he was the editor and it was his decision and that we weren’t friends anymore.” Carter wiped the fresh tears that were falling to his cheeks.

Cat put her hands on either side of his face. “My brave boy,” she said proudly.

“What do I do, Mom?”

Cat sighed. “I may not be the best person to give you advice here, Carter. I’ve run stories that have damaged people. I’ve reported on things I’m not proud of. I’ve given out information on people even when they’ve begged me not to. Being a journalist sometimes means making hard decisions. But, that doesn’t mean you should be like me.” She looked away from the penetrating blue of her son’s eyes. “I’m beginning to realize maybe that isn’t the kind of journalist I want to be either.” 

Carter took his mother’s hand in his own. “You’re a great journalist, and an even better mom. I just don’t think it’s our place to tell everyone about Joey.”

“What did Seth find, Carter?” she looked back at him.

Carter hesitated, but Cat squeezed his hand. “Seth followed him home one day. He walks home with a boy from N.C. Public and when they got to the other boy’s house, Joey…” Carter gulped. “Seth saw Joey kiss the boy… on the mouth.”

Cat nodded knowingly. “So, Seth wanted to out Joey as gay to the whole school, to all of his friends, and his family. And he was going to publish that Joey being gay is the reason he didn’t make the football team?” Carter nodded. Cat shifted on the bed, and lifted Carter’s chin so he was looking at her. “You did the right thing, sweetheart. Seth has no business publishing that story. For you to stand up for Joey after everything he put you through makes you the bravest, biggest-hearted, most amazing kid I’ve ever met and I’m very proud of you.”

Carter smiled and hugged his mother, but his sadness remained. “It doesn’t matter. Seth published the story. The paper comes out tomorrow.”

Cat’s journalist brain kicked in and a plan started forming. “We may not be able to stop the presses, but we can control the story going forward. C’mon, we’re going to call Joey and his mom. Think you can be brave for another couple of hours?”

Carter nodded and followed his mom out of the room.

++++++++++++++++++++

Three grueling hours later, Cat closed the door to her bedroom and leaned against it. Carter was finally in bed, but he was as happy as the day he met Supergirl.

Cat had called, spoken to Mrs. Donato, and asked them over for dinner. The awkwardness of having her son’s bully and his mother in her home was short-lived as the entire story poured from Carter. He apologized to Joey and explained that he had tried, but failed to stop the story. There were shouts and threats. But Cat stood in front of her son protectively and watched, heartbroken as the fight went out of Joey and he collapsed into tears on the floor of her dining room. 

She was surprised to learn that Joey’s parents were aware and supportive of their son. She was thankful for that. Cat then explained what she had planned going forward. Carter was still, officially, part of the N.C. Prep Herald. He had every right to write whatever he liked, and even if the student editor denied the story, the faculty sponsor could override that decision. She’d have words with the English and Journalism head about running the original story to begin with, but that would come later. 

So, Carter spent the next hour interviewing Joey. He had notes and names of coaches, players and rejected kids that he would begin calling tomorrow. He was meticulous in pulling his story together and Cat was sure the discrimination expose Carter would write by the end of the week would be worthy of her beloved Tribune itself. Her son was a natural journalist; she still hadn’t decided how she felt about that.

Now here she stood against her bedroom door with her son snoring gently across the hall and staring at the print copy of Kara’s story — Supergirl’s story — on the desk across the room. She’d never decided not to run the story, but she hadn’t decided to run it either—until tonight. Tonight had given Cat the impetus she needed to do what she should have done a week ago. She strode across to the desk, picked up the white pages riddled with red edits and fed the entire thing into the shredder. She then made three phone calls.

The first was to the Tribune’s science editor, a former NASA astronaut and a brilliant writer, asking her to clear space for 2000 words in next Sunday’s edition.

The second was to the Director of the National City Observatory, asking for permission to use their radio telescope for a few hours the next afternoon.

The third was to Lucy Lane, and it made her heart pound in her chest. “Lucy, it’s Cat Grant. Listen, I know Kara’s sister doesn’t want anything to do with me, but I need you to get her in a room with me. I need her help.”

++++++++++++++++++++

Days later, Cat Grant found herself in a strange room in a strange building belonging to the Department of Extranormal Operations, facing a hologram with Kara’s eyes.


	5. The Lost World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat outdoes herself and Kara reaps the benefits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An enormous "Thank You!" once again to my beta/editor extraordinnaire kara-lesbihonest.  
> Thanks to fictorium for talking me through the ins and outs of the next couple of chapters.  
> Thanks to my Superfriends Sin Squad for the joy you bring me each day.
> 
> I have since given up any pretense of this being a romantic "comedy." We're in full-on romance territory.

“Alura, we’re not really getting anywhere.” Cat was frustrated and tired. She’d been standing in front of this shadow of a woman for over an hour, asking question after question about Kara, about Krypton, about The House of El, but everything was somehow cold and detached. “You’ve given me valuable information about your world, but what I’m looking for is-” Cat paused, unsure of the word she was looking for. “-deeper,” is what she finally landed on. “I’m looking for memories. Of Kara, of her childhood. What did she like to eat? Did she have passions or dreams? What was she like as a little girl?”

“Kara Zor-El,” the hologram repeated. “Born in Rao cycle 5,467. Placed in a shuttle pod bound for earth in Rao cycle 5,480 on the last day of Krypton. Child of Zor-El and Alura In-Ze and heir to the House of El. As a child she joined the other children of Argo City in school where she studied the arts and sciences. She excelled in both and was a very skilled painter. Kara Zor-El was sent away from Krypton to protect Kal-El in his new life on Earth.”

Cat sighed. She’d heard this speech three times already. For artificial intelligence, it seemed rather limited in its actual knowledge of Kara. She turned to Alex, who was leaning against a wall, arms crossed. “This is pointless.”

“It’s a machine, Miss Grant, did you really think it was going to cry and share its deepest secrets with you?”

“It has her mother’s memories, doesn’t it?” Cat pressed.

“Yes, but it is incapable of emotion. If you want to know about Kara, ask me, Miss Grant. Nobody knows her better.”

“You, Agent Danvers, are just as useless to me. I want to know about Kara’s life on Krypton. She didn’t meet you until she got here.”

“And who do you think she told all those stories to when there was nobody from home left?” Alex pushed off the wall and began a slow approach of Cat. “Who do you think held her when she cried because she hurt so badly she thought she’d explode? Who was there for every nightmare, every power surge, every day the memories crushed her to the point of paralysis.” Alex was standing over Cat now, using her height to intimidate this unshakeable woman who had crept into her sister’s heart. “I know more about Kara Zor-El than anyone on this planet, but if you want to know more, Cat Grant, you’ll have to ask me nicely, because I still don’t see you as worthy of that part of her.”

Cat was stung by the words, but she accepted Alex’s anger as penance. When she spoke, the determination was gone, replaced by a heaviness she had been living with for days. She met Alex’s eyes. “You’ve taken such good care of her, which is more than I can say for myself. I’m so glad she had… has… you. But it’s important that I not expose her as Kara Danvers. You’d be a dead giveaway, Alex.” It was the first time she’d used the woman’s first name and she congratulated herself on getting it right. She knew she shouldn’t, but she reached out and laid a hand on Alex’s shoulder, surprised when she didn’t back away. “Will you at least let me buy you a drink?”

Alex smiled. She was beginning to see why Kara found this woman so irresistible. “Tell you what. Let me make a couple of phone calls. There is someone. But if we meet her, you will give me your word that you will do exactly as I say, no matter what. Agreed?”

Cat nodded, intrigued and frightened. Her curiosity won out. “Agreed.”

+++++++++++++++++

Another hour later, Cat sat in a dark bar across from Astra In-Ze, Kara Danvers’ Kryptonian aunt.

Alex was wound like a watch spring. She had some kind of special firearm concealed under the table and she never took her eyes from the strange woman through the entire interview.

It set Cat on edge, but the information and emotion that poured from Astra spoke to Cat in a way she couldn’t explain.

Here was a woman who was abrasive much like her, closed and cold, but when she spoke of Kara, she bloomed like nightshade. Beautiful, but deadly. She talked and talked, of Kara, her parents, her life and passions on Krypton. She spoke of her precocious nature, her kind heart, her bravery.

“She is so like her mother. Good to the core, but with a rebellious streak. She was a fierce child. Loyal, loving, artistic. I used to find her wandering the greenhouses, smelling the blossoms. I’d tell her they weren’t meant to be smelled, that their purpose was to provide us with food and she said, ‘But Aunt Astra, if they can give us pleasure and nourishment, why not embrace both?’” Astra sighed and wiped a tear at that.

Astra moved on to the topic of Krypton itself. She spoke of their traditions, beliefs, culture. Technology and science were the religions of Krypton. They had their deities, but most Kryptonians put their faith in the way their world worked. “I can’t help but wonder,” Astra mused, “if we had put more stock in the abstract or miraculous, if we might not have been able to save ourselves from our own destruction.” 

Cat watched as Astra shut down again. Her eyes turned cold once again and Cat knew any further questions would be futile.

She reached a hand to shake Astra’s. “Thank you, Astra, for your time. I’d like to consult with you again, if Agent Danvers would be willing to run interference at my office.” Astra nodded with a cursory glance at a cloudy-faced Alex. “And… thank you, also, for caring so deeply for Kara. Agent Danvers tells me you are no longer… close, but I can see you once loved her, very much.”

Astra accepted her handshake. “I still do, Miss Grant. One does not simply stop loving Kara.”

Cat froze at the observation. Alex escorted her visitor to the door. “No, I suppose one does not,” she whispered. She tracked the women to the entrance and watched as they exchanged quiet, but intense words. It was clear to Cat that Alex was laying down a threat to this dangerous woman.

When Astra was gone, Cat approached Alex who remained standing in the door watching the direction Astra went. “You Danvers girls don’t make it easy on your women, do you?”

The look on Alex’s face was worth the fear of retribution.

+++++++++++++++++

After getting home, getting Carter settled, and committing pages of notes to her hard drive, Cat made another phone call to her science editor. “Carol, it’s Cat. You can have the two-thousand words for Sunday back, but I’m going to need the entire science section next Sunday. Bump everything that isn’t urgent. I’ve got the spread of the century.” Waiting another week tugged painfully at Cat’s impatience, but this had to be done right.

The next morning was a Saturday. To Carter’s delight, they spent the entire day at National City Observatory. She met with the head astronomer and the three of them spent hours switching between the radio and optical telescopes. She was allowed a few too-brief minutes with the precious infrared telescope. They plotted and drew and charted and did impossible math until the sun began to set over the ocean and Carter’s eyes began to droop. Cat rolled and stuffed a thick stack of charts into a plastic document tube and slung it over her shoulder. She shook Dr. Sage’s hand. “You’ll send me the electronic copies of those charts?” she asked with a sparkle in her eyes. She hadn’t carried Carter in 5 years, but he could barely stand, so she gracelessly hoisted him into her arms, where he held on tight and tucked himself against her. “Thank you for everything.” Her voice was thick with emotion and she couldn’t hold back her smile.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sunday morning found the little Grant family surrounded by half-eaten bagels, hot chocolate and espresso mugs and orange peels, a Sunday morning tradition. Parts of the table not covered with the carnage of their breakfast was hidden by notes, charts and outlines.

Twin curly heads bent over identical laptops, committing words to the page. Occasionally, one of them would pop their head up and run a line or a fact past the other. Feedback was swift and honest. Time slipped away. Cat emerged from her haze to clean up the kitchen, throw together a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and proofread Carter’s first draft. While she marked his pages with her old fashioned red felt-tip, Carter fell asleep on the sofa in the family room. Cat tucked a blanket around him and returned to her own work.

She was working the entire layout of the Sunday Science section herself. She could not trust any part of this story to anyone other than her own hand, not even James Olsen. Astra’s impassioned words echoed in her mind along with Alex’s pleas to do right by her sister. The swirl of stars that she had been ensconced in yesterday came together and settled somewhere deep in her to form one solid image. “Kara,” she said out loud, unintentionally. “I know you.”

+++++++++++++++

On Wednesday, Carter’s story was published in the N.C. Prep Herald and it hit the school hard. Carter came home that night with a hundred stories of kids thanking him for his expose of the school’s staff and faculty and a few kids throwing things his way in the hallways. Cat was concerned but soothed when Carter laid a small hand on hers and said, “It’s okay, Mom. I knew that might happen. It’s no worse than anything else they’ve done.” Cat drew him close to her so he wouldn’t see her tears.

The far-reaching consequences were much greater. A formal investigation had been opened on the junior high coaching staff at the school and of the journalism sponsor for running an unvetted story to begin with. 

The best part of his day, Carter said, was when Joey Denato barged into a group of kids ganging up on him, stuck his hand out to Carter and they shook. “Thanks, man,” Joey said. “Let’s go to Algebra.” 

It was alone in her room that night that she let the tears come in earnest. No matter what happened in her professional life, or with Kara, or what her past held, she had done something miraculously right in Carter.

+++++++++++++++++++

It wasn’t until late Thursday afternoon that Cat was satisfied enough with her research to wrap the section mock-up in parchment paper, tie it with a bow and fix it to the huge bouquet of white roses waiting on her desk.

She had agonized over the card for three hours, writing poetry and heartsick prose before finally dropping her fourth attempt into the shredder and writing simply:

“This is an advance copy of Sunday’s Science section. If you inform me that I am not worthy of your story, which would be justified, we will be publishing twelve blank pages. We go to print Saturday at midnight. I must have your answer before then. I may not know your heart, Kara, but I now know more about you than I could have ever dreamed. I can only hope that someday you might know me too. I’m so very sorry. Yours, Cat”

P.S. If you are amenable, I have something to show you. Friday night. 9pm at the Planetarium. I truly hope to see you there.

When she looked up, a nervous looking messenger wearing a bike helmet was standing outside her office. “Oh, no. No bicycles. There is a town car waiting out front. You will take it and this arrangement to the address on the front of this card. The driver knows the way. You will hand it directly to Kara Danvers, nobody else. If she isn’t home, you will wait outside her apartment door until she arrives. You’ll then come back here and let me know the package was safely delivered. Upon your arrival back here, you’ll receive an additional hundred dollars for your trouble. Clear?” The messenger raised his eyebrows, but nodded. “Well, chop chop.”

The flowers, mock-up and messenger swept from the room and Cat dropped her head into her hands.

++++++++++++++++++

“Science Section, what the hell?” Kara whispered to herself before finishing the note. She glanced back up one more time at the enormous arrangement of white roses on her dining room table. White. Purity. Worthiness. It was an apology. Kara continued to read. Her heart was in her throat as she finished. “Oh, Cat, what have you done?”

She gingerly removed the large roll of parchment and photo paper, broke the ribbon with little effort and let the papers unfurl on the table. Before her was an array of work she hadn’t seen since her father had attempted to plot Earth’s sister system almost an entire galaxy away. Before her were star charts and maps, topographic reliefs, drawings of half-forgotten flora and fauna from her childhood, watercolor paintings of clothing that she thought she recognized as Aunt Astra’s, and pages and pages of newsprint. Kara wasn’t sure where to start, so she picked up the sheet of paper on top of the stack. It appeared to be the section banner that would splash above the fold when people opened to Science on Sunday morning. 

“Krypton: The Lost World” by Catherine J. Grant, Journeyman Astronomer

Kara gasped but couldn’t help the smile. For Cat Grant to admit she was merely “Journeyman” at anything was a feat unto itself. Kara plucked one white rose from the arrangement and held it to her nose as she sat down at her dining room table and began to explore the embarrassment of riches before her.

The sky outside the apartment was pitch black and the only light inside came from the overhead lamp above the table. Kara was still ensconced in the world Cat had gifted to her. She’d read a half dozen pages on herself and the House of El. She was carefully, never mentioned by name. Supergirl was her moniker, but it was applied with a deft, caring hand. She traced the outline of a beautiful white dress with criss crosses at the collarbones and white gossamer down the arms. Her coat of arms was emblazoned on the front. It had clearly been dreamed up, but it was within Kryptonian fashion, last Kara knew.

At some point in the night, as Kara bent low over a birds-eye-view rendering of Argo City, Kara could only assume came from her mother’s A.I., tears began to run, unhindered down her cheeks.

That was how Alex found her, one hand crumpling the corner of a star chart of Krypton’s sister planets, the other still clutching a single, white rose. The thorns would have torn anyone else’s hand to shreds by now, but Kara didn’t even notice their presence. Alex extracted flower and paper from her sister’s grip and pulled a chair next to her, never letting go of her hand. “Kara,” she whispered. “Kara, don’t you like it?”

Kara pressed her lips together as more tears poured down her cheeks. Her nose was running and her hair had come loose from it’s haphazard bun. “You knew?” Alex didn’t answer. The question was entirely rhetorical. Cat never could have pulled this off without help. “How did she do this, Alex? Why? She had everything she needed to give the world their biggest story but instead...”

“Instead, she chose to give you your story.” Kara’s face crumpled again and Alex stroked her hair. “That woman, Kara, cares a great deal for you. She may never tell you, and she certainly won’t tell the rest of the world, but if you ever needed evidence that she wants to know more about you, look no further, sis.”

Kara suddenly looked up and shuffled the papers around on the table, looking for something she’d seen earlier that she wanted again. “Look,” she said, discovering the small piece of photo paper. On it was a high res photo of a rubbing taken from some unknown surface, her pod, most likely. It was Kryptonian glyphs. Kara handed it to Alex. “Translate it.” 

Alex hadn’t translated much real Kryptonian since high school, but she saw the sparkle in Kara’s eyes and began to read slowly. 

“Wherever you go, I shall be.  
Whatever you wish, I shall grant.  
Whomever you love, I shall embrace  
Stronger Together”

Tears sparkled in Alex’s eyes now. “That’s beautiful, Kara.”

Kara nodded. “It’s the only rubbing in here. My ship is covered in Kryptonian glyphs, prayers for my safe journey, but she only sent this one.”

Alex smirked. “Everything means something to Cat Grant.” She knew that now. She’d spent enough time with the woman over the past several days while Cat pulled her spread together. “I’m also fairly certain she single-handedly brokered peace with Astra and her minions, but time will tell.”

“I need to see her.” Kara began to gather the papers together.

“Uh, uh, my little Kryptonian. Cat’s orders. Tomorrow night, not a second before. I was sent here on a mission to keep you in this apartment. Supergirl is off duty for the evening.”

“You’re all in on this, aren’t you?” Kara’s eyes darkened slightly. “Am I the only one in the dark, here?”

“What do you want on your pizza, sis?” was Alex’s only reply.

++++++++++++++++

The National City Planetarium was deserted, which meant that Cat’s little scheme had required her to buy out the place for the evening. Kara rolled her eyes at the extravagance. Par for the course for Cat Grant.

Before entering the Star Theatre, she stopped once again at the small telescope trained on her home star. She leaned down and looked through the eyepiece again. The green sparkles surrounding the black hole that was Krypton seemed to be more pronounced, a little sharper. The green color turned her stomach a bit, but she focused on the space in the middle. 

“Beautiful.”

Kara started and jumped away from the telescope to meet eyes with Cat Grant. She adjusted her glasses. “Y-yes, it is, I suppose, if you like lost… things…”

“I wasn’t talking about the planet, Kara.”

Kara swallowed. “How are you, Cat?” Kara had played this scene over and over in her mind all night and all day and now that she was here in the moment, all of those thoughts flew from her mind and she was unable to retrieve them.

“Fine,” Cat said without hesitation and took it back immediately. “That’s a lie. I’m… miserable. Sick. Guilty. Tired. I haven’t had a decent cup of coffee in a week.” Cat offered a weak smile.

“Right.” It was all about the coffee and layouts, of course. Cat needed her competent assistant back. “You said you had something to show me?”

Cat nodded and held out her hand. Kara took it warily and followed Cat into the Star Theatre.

“Stand here.” Cat was looking very pleased with herself and ran to the booth to fiddle with the controls. Within a moment the room darkened and an array of stars spread out over Kara’s head. She looked up and around at the unfamiliar star arrangements. She didn’t recognize any of Earth’s constellations or points of reference, even though she grew up with Jeremiah showing them to her almost every night.

“Cat, what is this?” She felt Cat coming up behind her, almost touching. Her breath stirred the small hairs on the back of Kara’s neck. Cat placed one hand on Kara’s shoulder and reached past her with the other, pointing up at the brightest star at the top of the dome. It glowed a faint red. 

“That,” she said proudly, “is Rao.” She moved her hand slightly to the left of the glowing star to a smaller, whiter, brighter point. “That is Krypton’s sister planet. And that,” she moved her hand to the right, on the opposite side of Rao to a bluish point, “is it’s twin.” She moved to step in front of Kara so she could see her face, which was a mask of awe and wonder. “Krypton may be gone, Kara, but her system remains, and these planets could very well be inhabited, just as Krypton was. We may never know for sure, but we can dream.” Cat looked up at her creation and Kara could see the stars reflected in her eyes.

“You charted Rao for me?” Kara removed her glasses. There was no need for them in an empty room with this woman who knew her. She wiped her tears and met Cat’s eyes. “I don’t know why you’ve done all of this. But thank you.”

Cat was a little startled. After all they’d been through, Kara still didn’t know why Cat would do this, would seek out her story, would literally give her the world. It didn’t matter, though. This was about Kara, not her, she reminded herself. “I’m not done. Dr. Sage, the head astronomer here, has given me permission to name these planets, or satellites, I guess they’re being called for the time being.” Cat took Kara’s hand. “I’d like to pass that permission on to you, if you’d like.”

Kara’s jaw dropped. “Y-you want me to name Krypton’s sisters?”

Cat choked up a bit at Kara’s astonishment and could only nod silently. Cat was surprised to find herself wrapped in a tight hug. Her arms came around Kara and she sunk into the contact, drinking in the smell and feel of this strong, sad girl. Cat took the opportunity to bury her forehead in Kara’s shoulder and she felt Kara’s chin land on the top of her head. She released a breath into Kara’s neck and felt hot tears course down her cheeks. “Run the story, Cat. I want Earth to know my world, to know that I came from somewhere good and whole, once. I want them to know what you know.” At that, Kara stepped back, out of Cat’s reach and the cold and emptiness that greeted Cat brought more tears.

Cat didn’t want to let her back away again, so she moved forward, stroking a soft cheek with her thumb. “They’ll never know what I know.” Quiet settled between them and Cat drew Kara’s face to her own. Her eyes slipped closed and when she opened them, Kara was away again. She had turned her back and had a finger in her ear. “Okay. It’s okay, Alex. It’s fine. She’ll understand. I’ll be there in a minute.” She turned back to Cat. “I have to go,” she choked out.

Cat smiled sadly and squeezed her hand. “Go.”

In the blink of an eye, Supergirl stood before her, on the observation deck, ready to climb the railing and fly. She turned back to Cat first. “Astra and Alura.”

“What?” Cat was confused.

“The sisters. Name the white one Astra, and the blue one Alura.” Kara smiled softly and was gone.

Unsurprised, Cat nodded once, wiped her tears and made her way out of the Planetarium.


	6. Spoiling for a Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara has a rough couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to writerstealth, rtarara, fictorium and xxtorchxx for the edits, which were many and varied on this chapter, and for talking me through the difficult bits.
> 
> To my SuperTrash Sin Squad for the hours of fun and joy.

“Whattaya got, Alex?” Kara was in flight on her way to the DEO, having just left Cat Grant’s warm embrace.

“It’s an alien of unknown origin, but we have reason to believe it’s working with Non and Astra.”

Kara landed outside the DEO and was at Alex’s side in seconds. They approached Hank at the bank of monitors in the main intelligence bay.

“The alien arrived at the National City Trainyard twelve minutes ago. It’s been systematically ripping boxcars open one by one and tossing them aside. It appears to be looking for something.”

“Okay,” Kara hedged, “so why am I standing here watching? Shouldn’t I just…” She made a half-hearted flying motion followed by slamming her hand into her fist.

Alex let out an involuntary bark of laughter, but schooled her features upon a stern look from Hank. She shot Kara a smile and was relieved to see Kara smile back. Maybe her little sister was coming out of her funk.

“We thought you might want to see what you were up against, first, Supergirl.”

Kara shrugged. “Nah, I’ll just go.” She started for the door, only to be dragged back by Alex’s hand on her elbow.

“No way, sis. Not without backup. We’ve got a team ready. Just let us move them out, first.” She disappeared down a hallway, speaking into her wrist, presumably to get her troops on the move.

Kara rolled her eyes. She was tense and spoiling for a fight, so she waited until Hank had his back turned and took off like a shot. She was at the trainyard in seconds and wasted no time shooting heat vision into her opponent from behind. She was surprised to see he was unphased.

He was huge, fifteen feet tall and nearly as wide, and covered in angry armored scales. “Good,” Kara said out loud. “I need to punch the shit out of something anyway.”

So she did. The giant armored monster proved a bit of a sissy when it came to hand to hand combat, but he was strong, and well-protected. Kara was thrown into a boxcar when she saw the unmarked DEO humvees pull up and a full swat team mobilized around her.

Kara smiled. “You’re screwed now, Lumpy.” She gave him a punch in his eye socket for good measure and took pleasure in his pained howl.

Just then, her bluetooth flared to life and she answered hastily. “I see you Alex. A rocket launcher to his face should take him out.”

“Kara?” The weak, terrified voice on the other end nearly made her fall to the ground and her distraction cost her a knock to the jaw by a still-flailing alien.

She regained her bearings and answered. “Cat? Where are you?”

“CatCo.” It was just a whisper. She was trying to stay silent.

“I’m coming, Cat, okay? I’m on my way.” She had already landed next to Alex. “Cat’s in trouble. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I have to go.”

Alex nodded. “Go. We’ve got this.”

“He’s not as tough as he looks.” Kara assured her, and was gone.

++++++++++++++++++

CatCo was mostly dark, except for the blazing lights of Cat’s top floor office. Kara did her best to land silently on the balcony so as not to alert anyone to her presence. She heard the chilling, familiar voice at once.

“I can hear your heartbeat, human. Hiding is of no use. Ah, there you are.”

Kara stepped from the shadows to find Non standing over a cowering Cat Grant, who had tucked herself between Kara’s old desk and the wall in the bullpen. He dragged her from her hiding spot by her hair and was growling into her ear. “You’ve been spending time with my wife, human. She reeks of you every time she comes home now. It’s disgusting and I mean to eliminate you from her life.”

Cat didn’t scream or plead or make any noise at all. She did make eye contact with an enraged Kara through the glass in her office. Kara was across the room in a nanosecond. She tore Non’s hand from Cat’s hair and held him by the throat. “Run, Cat. Call Alex. Tell her to send the chopper and go wait on the roof. Get yourself out. Do you understand me?” 

“Like hell. I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Dammit Cat, get out! I can’t protect you and kill him at the same time.” At this, Non squirmed and came loose from her grip. She slammed a fist into his nose and he flew through the glass wall of Cat’s inner sanctum. Kara rounded on Cat while keeping an ear on Non, who was already getting up. She gripped her shoulder and placed one firm hand on her cheek, stealing a caress with her thumb. She spoke in a low measured voice, face inches from Cat’s. “For once in your damned life, listen to someone else, Cat.” Her eyes were pleading and her jaw was clenched, once again spoiling for a fight. She was about to get one. She shoved Cat out of the way and shouted again, “Go!”

Non lunged again and tackled Kara to the floor. They slid across the bullpen, taking out desks, chairs, and computers on the way, Kara reversed on Non and sat atop him, punching repeatedly at his face and chest. Each blow drove his head into the linoleum floor. He caught her final blow with his hand, squeezing her fist and flipping her head over heels. Her back hit the floor. She sprang up and caught him by his collar before he could get to Cat, who still hadn't moved. She dragged him back so she could speak into his ear. Her other hand curled menacingly around his throat. She was strong enough to rip his jugular from his neck if she wanted. She could hear his blood pounding through it. “She's under my protection, Non. She’s mine. The more you try to take from me, the more harm will come to you.” Kara sounded villainous, evil, but she didn't care. “You've taken everything from me once, Uncle, but I'm all grown up now, and I can stop you from doing it again.” Her fingers curled into his skin. 

She heard a commotion from the other room and her attention was drawn to Cat, who had dropped her phone on the floor. 

Kara slammed Non’s head into the nearest desk, holding him there. It took every muscle in her body as Non struggled against her. 

“Cat, things are about to get messy. If I knock him out and you’re still standing there, I will drag you to the roof myself. And unless you want to see my uncle’s alien brain spread across your pristine office, I suggest you get out. Now!” She dragged Non up to face her and landed two solid blows to his face and temple. He still had an evil grin plastered on his face, and he managed to get his feet under her and push. Kara hit the ceiling and landed back on the floor with an “oof.” 

Non flipped her over and punched her hard. Her head bounced off the floor. “Your love for your human makes you weak. And don't call me Uncle. I am no relation to you. My wife's pitiful family lauded you as the last daughter of their house, but you're just like them. Too righteous for your own good.” 

Kara threw him off her. Cat was no longer present in the room but her courage and strength remained. Kara gave Non a mighty kick to his solar plexus and he flew through another pane of glass. The next second they were locked in a grapple, knocking through Cat’s desk, and then the wall of monitors out to the balcony. Kara pinned Non to the wall. Tears were in her eyes, but she was determined not to cry. “Cat makes me strong, Non. Can you say the same of Astra?” He struggled but she held him fast. “You came here tonight not out of love for her, but out of jealousy and mistrust. Cat calls to me when she is in need. Are you Astra’s first call, Non?” It was the first time she'd seen uncertainty in his eyes. She knew then she couldn't end his life, no matter what he'd done to her or to Cat.

She suddenly registered the sound of the chopper getting closer. She would need to disengage the kryptonite protector he had implanted in his jumpsuit. She drove her fist into his chest. She felt her hand sink through layers of fabric before hitting the steel of his pectoral muscle. She squeezed and pulled and the entire left side of his garment opened like a flesh wound, ragged and limp. In her hand she held his best protection, which she promptly chucked over the wall. “Just you and me now, Uncle Non, but my people are coming and they have weapons that you are vulnerable to now.” 

Non smiled smugly. “You’re vulnerable to them too, Supergirl,” he snarked.

Kara drug his face close to hers. “Worth it,” she snarled in his face before driving her heat vision into where his head should have been.

Non ducked away and the wall behind him crumbled to dust. He leapt into the sky and Kara tore after him.

+++++++++++++++++

From the roof, Cat gripped her phone and watched the black helicopter land. Soldiers in full riot gear leapt from the copter, followed immediately by Kara’s sister Alex. It was then Cat saw the man who had attacked her fly past the rooftop followed by a blur of red and blue. She watched them disappear into the horizon as she was pulled from the edge by Alex Danvers.

“Are you alright, Miss Grant?” Alex asked.

Cat could only nod and look out in the direction Kara had taken off. “They went that way.”

“I’ll find her, don’t worry. We’re going to take you home. Kara would skin me alive if I took you back to HQ, but I will need to ask you some questions.

Cat nodded. “Lead on, Agent Scully.”

“Danvers.”

++++++++++++++++++++

By the time Kara dragged an unconscious Non into DEO headquarters the sun was peeking over the horizon. Supergirl had just enough strength left to dump Non into the kryptonite cell Astra had occupied before collapsing on the floor in a red and blue heap.

That’s where Alex found her when she rushed through the doors and down the empty corridors. She had ordered Vasquez to see Cat home and debrief her, and tracked Kara several miles north of the city, where she and Non had finally had it out in the air above the beach. Alex had let them fight until she could see Kara wearing down. She put a kryptonite tranquilizer in Non’s neck and he fell from the sky, leaving a crater in the sand.

“What the hell, Alex? I had it under control.”

“Kara, you can barely stand, let alone fight. You don’t have to do everything on your own, you know.”

At this, Kara narrowed her eyes, picked up Non by the collar of his jumpsuit and took off towards home. Once again, Alex tracked her back to the DEO, making sure she didn’t crash land in the ocean on her way.

Now, she was lying in a pile of superhero on the floor. Alex gathered her up and carried her to her sunbed. She checked her for injuries and squeezed her hand. “Jesus, you’re stubborn, Kara.”

Kara slept for most of the day and when she finally woke, she wasted no time finding Alex.

“I need to know where to find Astra.”

Alex scoffed. “Not a chance.”

“Alex.” Kara’s tone was warning and dangerous.

Alex leaned against the wall outside of Non’s cell, where she’d been checking the kryptonite levels. “You think I’m going to send you to see your homicidal aunt after you’ve blown out your powers beating the hell out of her husband? Think again, sis.”

Kara rarely used her powers on Alex. They had an unspoken agreement, but Kara had enough power from her nap in the sunbed to squeeze Alex’s shoulder hard enough to ache a bit under her fingers. “He went after Cat, Alex. This ends tonight.”

Alex knew that look. “Will you at least wait until I can come with you? I’m on guard duty until Hank can pull together a detail.”

Kara shook her head. “Family reunion, Alex, but I promise to call you when I’m done.”

Alex sighed and against her better judgement pulled out her phone and texted an address to her sister. “Can you fly?”

Kara nodded and was gone.


	7. What If

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A family reunion, a walk in the rain and an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to writerstealth, rtarara, fictorium and xxtorchxx for the edits, which were many and varied on this chapter, and for talking me through the difficult bits.
> 
> To my SuperTrash Sin Squad for the hours of fun and joy.
> 
> We are nearing the end.

Kara ducked into the third story window of the warehouse loft. She could feel fatigue pulling at the corners of her powers. She might not be able to fly home. A moment of fear shot through her as she prepared to face Astra, who was at full power. But she thought of Cat, cowering in the corner behind a desk, and screwed up her courage. She made her way further into the sparsely furnished space.

It was nearly empty, military and functional. It lacked the warmth and charm of her own cozy home and the messy lived-in chaos of Alex’s place. This was simply a place to exist.

“Non, is that you?” Astra emerged from around a corner leading to the rest of the loft and stopped short at the sight of her niece. “Kara.”

“Non isn’t coming home, Astra.”

Astra’s eyes narrowed. “What have you done, Little One?”

“He’s safe.” It was all she would give away. “This is about what he’s done. And about what you’ve done.”

Astra stepped forward. “I’m not following, Kara.”

Kara clenched her fists. “He came after Cat Grant. He would have killed her.” Kara could feel the burning behind her eyes. “He did it because of you.”

“Cat Grant. Your human.”

Kara clenched her fists. “She’s not my-” She stopped short. Maybe Cat Grant was her human. Hadn't she told Non that very night, “she’s mine?” She didn’t know anymore. “She’s… important to me.” She met her aunt’s eyes. “You’ve been helping her. She came to you with questions about Krypton and you helped her.”

Astra nodded. “She is very persuasive. She said it was for you.” She saw Kara suppress a sad smile and focus on the floor. Astra recognized so much of herself in Kara. She had Alura’s strength and sense of purpose and she gave love so freely, with no reservation, but Kara did not know how to accept love. It was as though she felt unworthy of it, as though there were strings attached. She was blind to the people all around her showering her with love.

“She cares for you very much, Little One. Do you not care for her?”

“Of course I do, I just…” Kara hadn’t sorted her feelings for Cat at this moment. Mere hours ago she had been prepared to kill for her, but at what cost? “She has the power to do me great harm and I don't know how to protect her… and myself.”

In this moment Astra was not a general or a soldier or an enemy, she was simply Aunt Astra, helping Kara Zor-El sort out her feelings, just as she had so many years ago. “Those we love always have great power to harm us.” She lifted Kara’s chin and forced their eyes to meet. This was no longer just about Cat Grant. It was about the harm they had brought to each other since their unexpected reunion. “But with that power comes potential for great happiness.” Astra was close enough to sweep a lock of hair from Kara’s face. “I suspect you have the power to harm her as well, and I do not refer to your abilities, my dear.” 

Kara took a shaky breath. She wanted desperately to sink into the arms of her beloved aunt in that moment and forget Supergirl and National City and Cat Grant and Earth. She wanted the pinkish glow of evenings on Krypton and mornings laughing with Astra over breakfast. But this wasn't Krypton and this wasn't the same woman who had loved her so fiercely then.

It was that moment that Kara remembered why she had come. She stepped away from Astra and narrowed her eyes. “Non attacked her. Now he’s our prisoner, just as you were. I’m here to issue a warning. If you or any of your lackeys come within a mile of Cat Grant, kryptonite syringes will be the least of your worries.” She put her hands on her hips in a show of bravery. “I don’t ever want to see that kind of fear in her eyes again, Astra. Do we understand each other?”

Astra couldn’t help but swell a bit in pride of her niece, who had grown up just as she had been raised. She nodded. “I do not wish for any harm to come to Cat Grant. I like your human very much, Kara. You have… chosen well.” Astra gave her niece a sly smile. “I will ensure her safety. You have my word.”

Kara removed her hands from her hips and shuffled a bit awkwardly before lifting her chin. “Thank you.” She made her way back from where she’d come and turned to look back, every inch the little girl who had been put in that pod. “Bye.”

She stepped back through the window and took off into the twilight. She flew several blocks towards her apartment and fell unceremoniously from the sky.

++++++++++++++++++++

Kara struggled to her feet ten blocks from her apartment just as the rain began to fall. 

Three blocks in she began to cry. The short fall had left bruises and a dull ache in her head. She was cold and soaked through by the time she turned the corner to the street that would take her to her arty little neighborhood in midtown.

The thoughts she had been avoiding throughout her fight flooded her mind even as the rain flooded the gutters and storm drains lining the road. Yesterday morning she had been convinced she never wanted to see Cat Grant again, but then Cat had reached out to her in the most spectacular way. 

Kara didn’t know this Cat. She didn’t know a Cat who laid aside the scoop of the century to give her former assistant such a special gift. She didn’t know a Cat who drew star charts and named planets and called herself an astronomer. She didn’t know a Cat who called her for help in a small, scared voice instead of just ruining her adversary with bitter words. She didn’t know a Cat who almost kissed her under the red glow of her home star. This was the Cat she’d always dreamed of knowing and now she was within reach, Kara wasn’t sure she could have her.

It was dark when she mounted the steps to her building, but the rain had not let up. Three exhausting flights out of the deluge and she was letting herself into her warm, dry apartment fantasizing about a scalding shower and a soft bed.

“Oh, thank God you’re home.”

Kara screamed and would have shot lasers from her eyes if she wasn’t entirely powerless. She pressed herself against her front door as Cat Grant appeared from her darkened living room like a ghost. “Cat? What the hell are you doing here?” Her relief over seeing the woman unharmed took over in the moment and she met her halfway. Hands roamed over Cat’s face, down her arms while Kara’s eyes searched every inch of her for injury. “Are you alright?” She didn’t wait for an answer before pulling Cat into a sodden embrace.

“You’re soaked to the skin.” Cat pulled out of the embrace and disappeared, but her voice floated down the hall. “Alex said you took off to speak to Astra but then never heard from you.” She reappeared with two fluffy towels.

Kara took one of the towels and hastily dried her face, hair and back of her neck. After a moment of processing Cat’s presence in her home, her eyes narrowed. She fought back the wave of annoyance that washed over her. “How in the hell did you get into my apartment, Cat?”

Cat looked up from her phone, where she had presumably been texting Alex to let her know the prodigal daughter had returned. “I picked the lock.” She was unapologetic but had the grace to blush a bit.

Kara rolled her eyes and removed her boots, which were sodden and uncomfortable. “You will never change. After everything that’s happened, Cat, you’re still invading my privacy and taking whatever damned thing you want and to hell with everyone else.”

Cat squinted at her, unsure why she was so angry. “You disappeared, Supergirl. Nobody knew where you were and forgive me for doing whatever damned thing I need to do to make sure you’re safe.” Cat dared to step close and reached the dry towel in her hands up to catch a single drop of water clinging to the end of Kara’s hair. They were both transported back to a similar moment mere weeks ago, when their roles were reversed.

“My hero.” Kara had meant it to come out bitter, befitting the irritation she had over her pity party being well and truly interrupted. But Cat’s presence intoxicated her and her voice was breathless and unsure.

“Go change. You’re dripping on the floor.”

Kara made her way down the hall. She took her time drying off and putting on a pair of comfy yoga pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt that frayed softly at the wrists and collar. She laid her hands and forehead against her bedroom door for a moment, steeling herself before opening it finally and making her way back to face the music.

“That took longer than anticipated,” Cat snarked. “Can’t you just-” She made a noncommittal hand gesture suggesting Kara superspeed her way into her loungewear. 

“I can’t, not right now.” Kara lifted her chin proudly. She had fought hard today. She wouldn’t be ashamed of losing her powers to save Cat or capture Non or confront her Aunt. She made her way to the fridge to pull out the leftover pizza she’d been looking forward to all day. “Hungry?”

Cat shook her head. “So, you’re-”

“Powerless.” She shoved half a slice in her mouth and sat across from Cat at the dining room table.

Cat reached out and covered Kara’s hand with her own. “I’m sorry.”

“Cat, please don’t.” She still had her mouth half full and she took a little pleasure in Cat’s wrinkled nose. She pulled her hand away and leaned back in her chair.

“Don’t what? Reach out to you? Hope for more? Take care of you? What are the rules here Kara?”

“I don’t know! God, Cat, how the hell am I supposed to know? You tell me! You find out who I am. You write this… incredible story. You. You tried to kiss me.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Cat, none of it makes any sense. I don’t know what to do.” She stood up to put more distance between them. “I was really scared tonight, Cat. Scared for you, yes, but scared for me too. I - I almost killed him.” She was trembling now and couldn’t stop. “I saw him with you and…” She looked up, meeting Cat’s eyes. “I’ve always tried to help people with my powers. Always tried to use them for good, but tonight, I- I wanted him to die. I wanted him to die because he threatened you. What if I had crossed that line? I didn’t even regret it. I would have killed him and I wouldn’t have been sorry, not if it had meant saving you.” Her tears threatened but did not fall.

“But you didn’t.” Cat stood and crossed to her. “You didn’t and I’m still here.”

“Why?” The question was so small, she wasn’t even truly sure she’d asked it at all.

“I told you, I was worried-”

“No, not why tonight. Why all of it? Why me?” Their eyes met. “Why the stars?”

Cat took Kara’s hand. This time she didn’t pull away. “Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to know more about you? Don’t answer that,” she said with a self-deprecating smile. “The more I found out, Kara, the more I wanted to know.” She was drawing tiny circles on the back of Kara’s hand and the young woman was fighting to stay focused on Cat’s words. “I know you, Kara. And to know you is to lo-”

“You don’t know me, Cat.” She backed away. She needed distance. “You know Supergirl.”

Cat stood, trying to follow. “Kara.”

“No! You know the little girl who was sent away from Krypton. You know the flying superhero who saved an airplane and rescued you from Livewire and-”

“And saved my son!” Cat’s voice cut through the room like a knife.

Kara deflated a bit. “Exactly my point. You know the hero from another world. But what about plain old Kara Danvers with her cheap pants and nervous tics? You want Supergirl, Cat, but you don’t want me.” She shook her head and hugged herself tightly.

“Is that what you think?” Cat watched Kara fold into herself and her heart broke.

“I’m powerless now, Cat.” She made her way to the window and looked out. “What if… what if the sun didn’t rise tomorrow? What if I am all there is? No powers. No suit. No hero. Just… Kiera.”

“Kara.” Cat rose and crossed to the window. “Look at me.”

Unable to say no, Kara turned. 

“I know you prefer Skittles to M&Ms and that you keep a dish of them on your desk for days I am especially trying.” They both smiled. “I know you always get an extra order of potstickers for long afternoons. I know you wear red when you wake up confident and blue when you could use an extra shot of courage. You wear yellow when you’re feeling a little sad. I know you prefer to take instructions with pen and paper because you can write your notes in Kryptonese if you like and nobody will know. I know you spend your lunch hours on Pinterest looking for new ways to wear your hair and easy recipes because you’re a terrible cook.” 

Cat stepped forward and took Kara’s hands in her own, she seemed to study the slender fingers. Kara was frozen. “I know you spend weekends on your art because every Monday your hands are stained with charcoal, or pastels or paint. Sometimes there is clay under your fingernails. I know that the tighter my dress, the more you mess with your glasses.” Kara’s shy smile didn’t reach her eyes. She entwined the fingers of one hand with her own and reached up to wipe the tear that fell from Kara’s eye. “I know that my son has never hugged anyone but me and his father, until you.” She glanced around the apartment. “I know you play the piano and are teaching yourself the guitar and that you have a beautiful singing voice.” Cat drew their foreheads together. “And I know I was not allowed to know any of these things as long as you were still my employee.”

Kara’s hands traced Cat’s face, ran through her soft hair and settled on her neck, thumbs caressing her jawline in sweet circles. “Cat, I- How could you possibly-”. She couldn’t find her words, so she did the only thing she could do in that moment. She pressed her lips to Cat’s and kissed her. It was Cat who deepened the kiss, Cat who dipped her hands to Kara’s hips and drew them to her own and Cat who whimpered helplessly into Kara’s mouth.

It was Kara who drew away, beaming through her tears as the sun through rainclouds. “I want to know you too.”

“Oh, Kara,” Cat breathed. “You do. I promise, darling.” Her hands sunk into Kara’s damp hair and she drew their lips together again. “You already do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue is forthcoming.


	8. Meteors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supergirl comes home after a long rescue mission and is reminded of what is most important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this has been a journey and a labor of love.  
> My first long Supercat.  
> Here's hoping there are more in my future.  
> Talk to me friends and tell me what you think.
> 
> Many thanks to my brilliant editors: kara-lesbihonest, rtarara, writerstealth, and reginalovesemma   
> I am, as always, forever grateful to the stealthvag squad for the joy you bring to my life
> 
> Warning: The fluff in this chapter is out of control and I was forced to eat cotton candy all day as penance. Enjoy your toothache

Kara floated for a moment above the balcony, just out of sight of Cat Grant, who was facing the other direction.  She watched her sip bourbon as her blonde curls blew gently in the warm breeze.  Every opportunity to observe Cat unnoticed was a chance to learn something new, to slide a piece of the ten-thousand-piece Cat Grant puzzle into place and watch another tiny detail of her picture sharpen into focus.

“I haven’t seen you in three days and you’re just going to float outside my window?”

Kara smiled.  “Our window.  Or did you forget?”

Cat turned to look at her.  Her face was stony, but Kara could see the twinkle behind her eyes.  She knew that look.  “It won’t be our window until you sleep here at least once after the official move-in date, Supergirl.  You disappeared during move-in day, and thus have not officially moved in.”

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll just have to go back to my old apartment then.  I mean, the new people probably haven’t moved in yet.  I might be able to crash on the floor until—”

“Get your ass down here.”

Kara laughed and floated onto the balcony.  She wasted no time in sweeping an arm around Cat’s waist and pulled her close.  It reminded them both of their first kiss, on this very balcony.  The one Kara had been sure would be their last.

She kissed Cat then, just as gallantly and thoroughly as she did that night, but this time she didn’t have to stop.  She pressed Cat carefully against the doorjamb, enjoying the feel of her curves against the supersuit.  Her kisses trailed down a long neck as she hoisted Cat so her jean-clad legs wrapped around her hips.  “I missed you,” she whispered against Cat’s jaw.

“Mmm.  Did you save the day, my hero?”  Cat’s fingers had woven themselves into her messy hair and her hips rolled dangerously against Kara’s.

Kara buried her face in Cat’s neck and squeezed her tighter.  “It was… hard.  There were so many we couldn’t save.  I tried, Cat.  Kal too.  But the earthquake just did too much damage.  Buildings leveled.  Fires.”  She drew back and met Cat’s concerned eyes.  “It’s why we were gone so long.  We combed the city to make sure nobody was trapped.  We captured the alien and the DEO sent in a relief team.”  She smiled.  “Yeah.  I saved the day.”  Tears glistened in her eyes.

“That’s my girl.”  Cat set her feet back on the floor, stroked Kara’s cheek and kissed her again.

Kara deepened the kiss.  Her hands wandered to the button of Cat’s jeans and toyed with it a bit, almost as if asking permission.  “I need you, Cat,” she whispered across open lips.  “The last three days have been all dirty fights and hot fires and hard stone.”  Her hand ghosted up Cat’s shirt to rest between her breasts.  “You’re so soft.”

Cat smiled.  “You’ll have to be fast.  Carter’s at the Air and Space Museum with your sister and your aunt.  They’ll be back for dinner any minute.”

Kara rolled her eyes but smiled.  “I can be  _ super _ speedy.”  She attached her lips to Cat’s neck and popped open the button on her jeans while dragging her fully into the bedroom.  By the time Cat was being pressed into her impossibly soft duvet, Kara’s fingers were inside her and she arched into the touch.

“So, no — Jesus — foreplay then?  Shit, Kara.”

“Later.  Promise.”  Kara bit her gently on the ear then as abruptly as she had begun, froze.  

“Don’t you dare stop.”

Kara laid her forehead against Cat’s, her hand still frozen.  “They’re home.”

Cat sighed.  She gently drew Kara’s hand from her jeans by the wrist, placing a kiss on her palm.  “Go get out of your suit and take a shower.  Dinner’s ready.  We’ll finish this later.”

Kara could feel Cat practically vibrating from arousal but nodded.

“Welcome home, darling.”  They kissed a bit desperately and separated.  Cat climbed out of bed and left the room to greet the newcomers while Kara disappeared into the bathroom to superspeed through a restorative shower.

++++++++++++++++

Kara was fresh, clean and laying kisses on four smooth cheeks inside of six minutes.

“How was the museum?”

She listened to Carter and Alex describe their trip that afternoon.  Astra stayed quiet.  She was still coming into her own as someone who spent regular time with humans and she mostly prefered to stay quiet and listen.

“We got to see Astra’s planet.” Carter mentioned nonchalantly.  Kara smiled at her aunt and took her hand, squeezing gently.  She felt Astra squeeze back with a force they could only use with each other.  

Astra smiled and chimed in.  “Alex nearly broke the biplane hanging from the ceiling.”

Kara laughed and leaned in as Astra recounted the story of Alex attempting to fix the lean of the biplane’s imaginary trajectory.

“So Carter was holding Alexandra’s shoes to the railing and she was leaning over, trying to point the plane at a more upward angle, but her shoe slipped and she tumbled over the railing.”  Kara gasped and Astra’s eyes twinkled.  “I nearly didn’t catch her hand.  It was a close thing.”

Alex rolled her eyes.  “I wasn’t going to fall.  I would have caught myself.  Anyway, the security guard happened by and, well, let’s just say you probably won’t be able to take Carter back to the museum, Cat.”  Cat looked scandalized and Alex laughed.  “Kidding.”  She winked at Carter who blushed.  

Astra continued to recount Alex’s cool lies to the guard and her conversation with the head physicist about the plane’s incorrect angle.  By the end of the story, everyone was laughing through tears and Astra looked proud that she was able to contribute to the conversation without feeling awkward.

Kara caught Alex looking fondly at Astra and reminded herself to speak to Alex about the permanence of Kryptonian relationships.  Even with Non imprisoned, Astra would be difficult to win as long as her husband was still alive.  She would speak to Astra as well about following her heart and human approaches to love.  Astra needed permission to let Non go.  She needed to know that if what she had with Alex was real, that it would be okay to let herself have it.  Kryptonians were built for lifelong love, humans for second chances.  Alex and Astra would have to find their way someplace in between.  She looked fondly at Cat and squeezed her thigh under the table.  

Alex didn’t miss this, and made to excuse herself and Astra from the little family’s space.  “C’mon, Astra.  Let’s let the Danvers-Grant house settle down for the night.”

“Grant-Danvers,” Cat stated pointedly.

Alex laughed.  “Whatever you say, Your Majesty.  Want help cleaning up?”

“Nah, that’s why we have Carter,” Kara chimed in.  But she began cleaning up dishes anyway.  “I’ll call you tomorrow, sis.”  She laid a kiss on her sister’s cheek, squeezed Astra’s shoulder and disappeared into the kitchen.

Hugs were exchanged and Alex and Astra were gone.

When Kara emerged from the kitchen, she was carrying three dishes of cherry pie topped with vanilla ice cream.  “Alright Grants, you know the drill.”

Every night before bed, the three of them sat together over something sweet and shared one thing they had learned that day about the others.  Sometimes they were small things.  “I learned you tie your left shoe first.”  Sometimes they were bigger things.  “I learned you can’t sleep until you’ve kissed us both goodnight.”

Tonight, when Kara began the ritual, Carter fidgeted.  He looked down into his bowl and picked at the cherries painting his ice cream pink.  Kara glanced at Cat who shrugged, unsure what was bothering her often hidden son.

“Cat, you go first.”  Kara smiled and sat down with her dessert.

“Hmmm… I learned, that while Kara was away, she sold two more paintings and a sculpture.”  She winked at Kara, who blushed and took a huge bite of cherry pie.  Cat leaned over to Carter.  “She’ll never admit what an accomplishment this is, but it is quite remarkable for an emerging artist.”

“Cat, stop.”

Cat reached out for Kara’s hand.  “Never.  I’m very proud of you, darling.”  She turned to Carter.  “I learned that Carter’s article is being considered for a Youth in Journalism award next month.”  She reached out and fluffed a bit of his hair.  “I’m proud of you too, sweetheart.”

Carter beamed and took a deep breath.  He still looked anxious and fidgeted, but his happiness shone through his fear.

Kara’s chest warmed pleasantly and her breath caught a little.  “My turn.  I learned Carter’s tux size.”  She threw an arm around him.  “We have to make sure you look perfect to accept your award, right kiddo?”

Carter blushed and Kara continued.  She looked at Cat and took her hand.  “I learned that Cat bought a new perfume while I was gone.”  She drew Cat’s wrist to her lips and laid a reverent kiss there.

“Gross,” Carter murmured under his breath.

Cat’s tore her eyes from Kara’s to raise an eyebrow in her son’s direction.  “Your turn,” she said wryly.

Carter turned red and he stared down at his hands.

Kara noticed the rise in his heart rate and his breathing became shallow.  She stood from her chair and moved closer to him, standing behind him with her hands on his shoulders.  “Hey, hey.  Whatever it is, it’s fine.”  She turned him to her so she could see his eyes, which were shining with fearful tears.  “Do you have something you need to tell us?”

Cat sat still, worried, but trusting Kara to draw Carter out of his panic.

Carter cleared his throat.  “I learned that there is a meteor shower starting at 9:30 tonight.”  His gaze shifted to Cat.  “And that is why mom keeps looking at her watch.”  He smiled and Cat had the grace to look abashed.

“I won’t miss anything,” she whispered.  “Go on.”  She wanted to encourage him, to tell him there was nothing he could say that would change anything, but she knew when he was like this, he just needed to get it out on his own time.

Carter fidgeted a bit more and spoke down at his hands.  “I— I learned that Kara is…” he looked up into her eyes.  “Supergirl.”

Kara gasped and looked to Cat.

Cat’s eyes had gone wide.  “Carter.  I don’t think—”

“Cat.”  Kara cut her off.  Cat looked up at her.  Kara simply shook her head.  She took Carter’s chin in her hand and gave him a watery smile.  She placed a sweet kiss on his forehead and disappeared down the hall.

Carter’s eyes filled with tears.  “Mom.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“It’s ok.  She’s wanted to tell you so many times, Carter.  How did you find out?”

Carter raised his eyebrows in a perfect imitation of his irascible mother.  “I’ve known for awhile, mom.  C’mon.  She disappears just before Supergirl shows up anywhere.  She eats more than James and Winn put together and her Aunt Astra is obviously an alien.”

Cat laughed.

“Today confirmed it.  She came home the same day Superman and Supergirl left Chile.”  He held up his smartphone.  “I have the Supergirl RSS feed on my phone, mom.”

Cat drew Carter to her and hugged him tight.  “My smart, smart boy.”

“I hope she isn’t too mad.”  He accepted his mother’s easy affection with a squeeze.

“Carter.”  He started and turned towards Kara’s voice.  There she stood, in full Supergirl regalia, smiling gently.

“You look really pretty,” he blurted out, then turned an especially bright shade of red.

Kara laughed and made her way to him.  She took his hands.  “I need you to do two things, Carter.  One, I need you to promise me that you can keep my secret.”

“I promise.”  He threw his arms around her.  “I promise, Kara.  I promise.”

She stroked his curls and looked lovingly at Cat over the top of his head.  “Two, I need you to promise me that you won’t ever put yourself in danger because of what you know.”  He nodded, sensing this was a more sobering promise.  “I have a lot of enemies, Carter, and if they think for one second that you know who I am, they’ll stop at nothing…” Her voice caught and she drew in a deep breath.  She squeezed him tighter.  She held a hand out to Cat and drew her into a chaste kiss.

Carter stepped away.  “I’ll be okay, Kara.”

She nodded.  “Then I have a surprise for you.”  She took his hand and led him to the large window in the living room.

“It’s 9:35, Cat,” she threw over her shoulder.  “I set a chair at your telescope.  You probably don’t want to miss any more.  Carter and I are going to watch it up close and personal.”  She winked at him and knelt.  “Climb on my back.  Don’t be scared.”

Carter’s eyes lit up and he did as he was told.  With another wink at Cat, Kara was through the window and into the air.

Cat knew threatening Kara with death and dismemberment would be useless, so instead she ran to her telescope and found them through her lens, surrounded by falling stars.

Soon enough, she lost herself in the meteor shower so thoroughly that she didn’t notice the pair land gracefully on her bedroom balcony until she heard Carter shout “Mom!”

She caught him in her arms.  “Did you have fun?”

He nodded and took her place at the telescope.

Cat wrapped her arms around Kara.  “Permission, next time, Supergirl.”  She raised an eyebrow.

Kara smirked.  “Yes, Miss Grant.”  She kissed her and, taking advantage of her lowered guard, lifted them into the sky.

Cat screeched to be put down the entire way up.  

“Shh, Cat.  Don’t you want to see your meteor shower up close?”

“Yes, dear.  That’s why I have the telescope.  Permission.”  She laid an ineffective punch on Kara’s shoulder, but held on tight.

“Just look up, Cat.”  Kara couldn’t look away as she watched the falling stars reflected in Cat’s eyes.  She let her watch for a few minutes, wrapping her cape around them when she felt the shiver run through Cat.

“We should get back,” Cat breathed.

Kara stroked her cheek.  The kiss they shared outshined the stars raining down around them.

+++++++++++++

Hours later, Kara leaned back against the headboard smiling.  She withdrew her hand from between Cat’s still trembling thighs on either side of her own.  She placed that same hand firmly on the small of Cat’s back, pressing her closer so their lips could meet.  “Oh, I do love you,” she sighed against Cat’s cheek.

“And I love you.”  Cat was still catching her breath as she began laying earnest kisses down Kara’s bare sternum, but was stopped by the hand still firmly on the small of her back.  

“Uh, uh.”  

Kara dug her nails in just a bit, making Cat gasp and sit up straight.  She searched the younger woman’s eyes, curious what she was up to.

“I have a few more things I’ve learned about you recently.  I’d like to share them.”  She smiled mischievously at Cat’s dubious look.  She leaned over, gripping Cat against her, and pulled a black box from the nightstand drawer.  She knew Cat would recognize the box right away.

Sure enough, Cat gasped and reached for the box only to have her hands slapped away.

“Patience.”  Kara turned the box over and over in her hand and traced the tiny silver embossment on top with her finger.  “I learned, while shopping for a very special gift for you, that you find Tiffany a bit young and amateurish and Cartier a bit pretentious, but Harry Winston is tasteful and classic.

“Kara, I—”

“Shh.”  She met Cat’s eyes.  “I learned that you believe princess cut is for overindulged actresses and that round cut is for twenty-somethings who wear cardigans and butterfly hairpins.”  She leaned close.  “I think they’re pretty.”  She grinned.  “But that square cut is for the people who rule the world.”  There was heat in her words and Cat’s eyes darkened another shade.  Kara popped open the black Harry Winston box to reveal the trademark blue velvet inside.  “I learned that you love sapphires and rubies but that the canary diamond is truly your favorite.”  She lifted out the sparkling ring.  

“Kara,” Cat breathed.

“Quiet.  I’m not done.  I couldn’t resist adding a bit of my own flair.”  She pointed at the tiny gold-flecked white stones surrounding the central yellow.  “This is X-Kryptonite.  Alex made it.  There’s not enough to allow you to fly or throw cars, but there might be just enough to allow you to hold me down or make your morning routine a few minutes faster.”  

“Are you saying that thing will give me powers?”

Not answering, she smiled and picked up Cat’s left hand, tracing the ring finger teasingly.  “I learned that you are a perfect size 5 and that you always swore you’d never wear a ring on this finger again.”

Cat opened her mouth to speak, only to be met with Kara’s finger against her lips, the silver of the setting resting against her chin.

“Almost done.  You’ve allowed me to know more about you than I ever dreamed I’d have permission to know and, even with all of my strength and power, I haven’t even scratched the surface.  I hope this diamond will go a little ways in helping me dig a little deeper.”  

A tear leaked out of Cat’s eye and Kara wiped it away with her free hand.

“I know you no longer believe in marriage, Cat, but there is no divorce on Krypton.  You’ll never have to worry about that.”

“We’re not on Krypton.”

Kara kissed Cat and, once again, took Cat’s ring finger in her hand, hovering the ring just above it.  “Krypton will never leave me, and I will never leave you.  Will you marry me, Cat Grant?”

“For crying out loud, Kara, it took you long enough.  Yes!  You drama queen.  Yes.  Of course, darling, yes.”

Kara pushed the ring onto Cat’s finger and watched her eyes flood with light.  They smiled and kissed.  Kara’s hand returned to its protective pace on the small of Cat’s back, but soon found herself flat on her back, Cat hovering above her.  “Oh, you’re in for it now, Sunny D.”

The End


End file.
